Oct. 21, 2006

Final Stats

Complete Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy volleyball team totaled a .309 hitting percentage and held Lehigh to a .082 mark in recording a three-game sweep of the Mountain Hawks Saturday afternoon in Macdonough Hall.

"We are always looking for the progress of our team and today was a good example of us improving as the year has gone on," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "We had a long, tough five-game match against Lehigh just a few weeks ago, so to be able to come out with a victory in three games today shows we are playing better as a team. We've been working hard all season, and it was nice today to see that hard work translate into a victory."

All three games were close, with the Mids finally breaking away from the Mountain Hawks late in each frame. Game one saw Lehigh take a 20-17 lead before the Mids tied the score at 21-21. After both teams recorded a sideout, the Mids scored five points on their serve to take a 27-22 advantage before winning the game. The second game was very similar in that the Mids used a late 5-0 run to take a 26-18 lead and provide enough of a cushion to take a 2-0 lead in games.

Navy trailed through much of game three, including by a score of 16-13 at the midpoint of the frame. Navy eventually tied the game at 21-21 then, after both teams recorded a sideout, Alexa Gibbs (So., Springfield, Ill.) stepped to the service line and served the final eight points of the match for the Mids.

Navy had very good balance on offense with five different players tallying at least five kills. Jessie Sims (So., Etowah, N.C.) would pace the Navy attack with 10 kills and a .450 hitting percentage, while Nikki England (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) totaled eight kills. The Navy defense was sparked by Rachel Dougherty's (Jr., Derwood, Md.) seven block assists, with Gibbs and team captain Megan Boyd (Sr., Richmond, Va.) each adding four blocks, as well.

Lehigh's Michelle Schwendenmann led all players with 13 kills.

The Mids will step out of conference play Tuesday night when Navy plays at Coppin State.