Sept. 17, 2005
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Final Stats
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Nikki England's (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) career-high 19 kills and a triple-double from Ashley Musser (Sr., Industry, Pa.) helped the Navy volleyball team hold off The Citadel, 30-26, 28-30, 30-17, 30-25, Saturday evening at Clune Arena on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The victory was the third straight for the Mids and improves Navy's record to 7-3 on the season, while The Citadel lost for the 10th time in its 11 matches this year.
"It was a really good trip for us," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob of the victory over The Citadel and Friday night's win against Air Force. "As has been the case all season, when we went to our bench tonight everyone responded. Contributions came from a lot of different people and in many different ways."
Navy's offense totaled a .203 attack percentage on the night, while its defense held The Citadel to a .123 mark. The Mids also tallied 11 service aces -- six by Mergan Vehovic (Sr., Clymer, Pa.) -- and 94 digs, with the Bulldogs finishing the match with five aces and 75 digs.
England, playing her second strong match in as many nights in her hometown, tied Beth McArthur (Jr., Roseville, Minn.) for kill honors in the match. McArthur would also add 14 digs and four blocks for the Mids, while Musser picked up the second triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 43 aces and 17 digs. Defensively, Jessie Sims (Fr., Etowah, N.C.) led all players with 22 digs.
Navy will open its Patriot League season Friday night when the Mids play host to Colgate and Saturday when Bucknell visits Macdonough Hall. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m.
"This weekend was not just about winning the two matches, it was about preparing ourselves for the upcoming Patriot League season," said Schwob. "We won a tough, emotional match Friday against Air Force, put it behind us and went out and executed very well tonight. That's what we need to do in the Patriot League when we play matches on back-to-back nights every week of the year. I feel we matured a lot as a team this weekend."
