11/9/2004 - Women's Volleyball
Mids Post Win Over Howard
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- After a slow start to the match, the Navy volleyball team recovered to post a four-game victory over Howard, Tuesday night in Macdonough Hall. The Midshipmen (19-8) defeated the Lady Bison (6-19), 22-30, 30-22, 30-28, 30-17.
"I was disappointed in how we came out at the start of the match," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "We did not match the intensity or effort demonstrated by Howard. We were able to bounce back, but I hope we learned a lesson tonight. All of the hard work we have done this season can go away quickly if we fail to come out strong Friday and Saturday night."
After a 4-0 run by Navy tied the score at 16-16 in game one, Howard answered with a 4-0 run of its own to take a 20-16 lead, then put the game away by scoring five-straight points to take a 29-21 lead. The Lady Bison hit .355 in the opening game, while holding the Mids to a .150 percentage.
Navy came out firing in game two, quickly scoring seven of the first eight points. Howard would close to 8-6, but Navy answered by going on another 7-1 run to stretch its lead to 15-7 and never saw its lead dip below seven points over the remainder of the game.
Game three saw 13 ties and neither team able to gain a sizeable advantage over the other. Howard scored back-to-back points to take a 28-26 lead when Kollin Hoskins recorded a kill and a solo block, but Navy freshman Diane Sheldon (Colorado Springs, Colo.) knocked down back-to-back kills of her own to tie the score at 28-28. Ashley Musser (Jr., Industry, Pa.) stepped to the service line and recorded an ace to give Navy a slim one-point lead, then Sheldon ended the game with yet another kill.
The Mids ended any suspense to game four early, scoring the opening eight points of the game and holding a double-digit lead for much of the game.
Navy totaled a .219 attack percentage in the match, while holding Howard to a .161 percentage. Navy dropped in 10 service aces to four for Howard, while the Lady Bison totaled nine team blocks to four for the Mids.
Sheldon tallied seven kills and only one attack error on nine swings (.667 hitting percentage) in the third game and finished the night with 13 kills and three errors on 33 attempts (.303 hitting percentage). Ashley Van Hartesvelt (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) led all players with 20 kills on the night, while totaling a .317 attack percentage, two aces and 12 digs. It is the third-straight match she has tallied 20 kills and finished with double-digit digs.
Also playing well offensively for Navy was Rachel Dougherty (Fr., Derwood, Md.), who knocked down nine kills without committing an attack error on 19 attempts (.474). Beth McArthur (So., Roseville, Minn.) totaled 14 digs to lead the Navy defense.
Howard had three players finish with double-doubles -- Morgan Maxwell with 12 kills and 11 digs, Hoskins with 11 kills and 10 digs and Kimberly Dexter with 11 kills and 14 digs. Hoskins also added a match-high five blocks.
Navy will close its season this weekend with a pair of matches in Macdonough Hall. The Mids will play host to Lafayette Friday and Lehigh Saturday, with both matches slated to begin at 7 p.m. Victories by Navy in both matches guarantees the Mids a berth in the upcoming playoffs and could move Navy into third place. A Navy split could leave the Mids in a three-way tie for third place, but out of the playoffs.
