11/19/2004 - Women's Volleyball
Mids Fall in League Semifinal
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Navy volleyball season came to a close with a three-game loss to American, 30-20, 30-21, 30-15, in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament Friday night in Washington, D.C. The Mids, who tied for third place in the league with an 8-6 record, conclude their campaign with a 21-9 record.
?That is about the best American has played against us in their four years in the league,? said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. ?They shut down our offense and kept finding the gaps in our defense.?
American held just a two-point lead at 13-11 when it ran five-straight points to take an 18-11 lead. Navy would close to within 21-16, but the Eagles scored four of the next six points to pull away from the Mids.
American totaled a .294 attack percentage in the opening game, while the Mids hit .000.
An early four-point burst gave American an 8-4 lead at the start of game two, but Navy scored three-straight points of its own to narrow the deficit to one point. The Eagles answered Navy's run by scoring six of the next seven points to take a 14-8 advantage. Navy would again close the gap late in the game, this time to within 22-17, but another 6-2 run for the Eagles ended any hope of a Navy comeback.
The Eagles then scored eight of the opening nine points at the start of game three to help seal the decision.
American totaled a .333 attack percentage on the night, while holding Navy to a .009 percentage. Navy tallied 15 more attacks than American did, but also finished with 16 fewer kills and 15 additional errors.
Diane Sheldon (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) led Navy with eight kills, while Ashley Van Hartesvelt (Sr., Breckenridge, Colo.), a 2004 First-Team All-Patriot League selection, and Beth McArthur (So., Roseville, Minn.) each finished with six kills. Van Hartesvelt tied team captain Katey Geary (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) for the team lead with eight digs.
American was led by Second-Team All-Patriot League performer Natacha Cornaz with 13 kills and co-player of the year Cutrina Biddulph tallied 12 kills and six blocks.
?It is always hard to have your season come to an end when you know you are losing a great senior class as we are,? said Schwob of Geary, Van Hartesvelt and Amanda McHenry (Cary, N.C.). ?They have been role models for the rest of the players on the team, combining success within the Brigade, in the classroom and on the volleyball court. The players coming back need to realize the standards they have set in all three areas, and work hard to not just match, but exceed them next season. We are a better program for having those three with us for four seasons.?
