11/5/2004 - Women's Volleyball
Mids Hold Off Raiders
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy volleyball team picked up a victory in the first of five-straight home matches to close the season, defeating Colgate in four games Friday night in Macdonough Hall. The Midshipmen (17-8, 5-6 Patriot League) defeated the Raiders (5-16, 2-9), 30-23, 30-27, 26-30, 30-22.
"When we were focused and played with emotion, we played well," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "When we waited on our heels and allowed Colgate to dictate the match, we struggled. This match is done. We already are thinking about Bucknell Saturday night and we have to come out ready to play."
The Midshipmen play host to the Bison Saturday night in Macdonough Hall. Bucknell will enter the match in third place in the Patriot League with a 7-4 record. Navy is in fourth place at 5-6 and is tied with Lafayette for the final playoff berth with three matches remaining in the season.
The Mids broke open a close game one with an 8-2 run which stretched their lead from 13-12 to 21-14. Game two remained close throughout the game. Navy appeared to break open the game with a 5-0 run that gave the Mids an 18-14 lead, but Colgate slowly answered back and eventually took a 25-24 lead. With the score tied at 27-27, a Navy sideout gave the Mids a 28-27 lead. Ashley Musser (Jr., Industry, Pa.) and Beth McArthur (So., Roseville, Minn.) quickly gave the Mids a two-point lead by combining for a block, then Colgate's Sheila Giovannini hit long for an attack error to give the Mids the 30-27 win.
The Raiders quickly found a groove with their serve at the start of game three, taking a 13-7 lead by pounding down six service aces. The Raiders held a 26-18 lead until Navy scored four-straight points to cut the deficit to 26-22, but Colgate would quickly close out the game. The Raiders tallied 10 aces in game three alone.
Navy never trailed in game four, but every time the Mids appeared to separate themselves a bit Colgate answered back with a run of their own. Navy held leads of 13-8, 20-13 and 23-15, but Colgate soon found itself serving and down by only four points at 23-19. The teams traded sideouts for several points until Navy closed the game and the match by scoring four-straight points.
Navy tallied a .338 hitting percentage in the match, buoyed by a .520 percentage in game one and a .405 mark in game four. The Raiders hit .141 on the evening, thanks in part to 12 team blocks by the Mids.
Ashley Van Hartesvelt (Sr., Breckenridge, Colo.) led Navy with 20 kills and 13 digs, Amanda McHenry (Sr.,Cary, N.C.) and Musser combined for 19 kills and zero errors on 36 attempts, with Musser also adding a career-high seven blocks, and Diane Sheldon (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded 10 kills and a .389 attack percentage on the night.
Colgate was led by 13 kills from Laurel Oliver, 12 from Allie Nichols and 11 from Erin Kanetzke.
Patriot League Standings (Saturday opponent)
1. American ... 10-0 (vs. Colgate)
2. Army ... 9-2 (at Lafayette)
3. Bucknell ... 7-4 (at Navy)
4. Navy ... 5-6 (vs. Bucknell)
Lafayette ... 5-6 (vs. Army)
6. Holy Cross ... 4-7 (at Lehigh)
7. Colgate ... 2-9 (at American)
8. Lehigh (vs. Holy Cross)
