Aug. 30, 2006

Final Stats

Complete Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Strong serving helped lead Saint Francis (Pa.) to a four-game victory over Navy, Wednesday night in the season-opening match for both volleyball teams in Macdonough Hall. The Red Flash defeated the Midshipmen 28-30, 30-26, 30-22, 30-24 in a match lasting just over two hours.

The Red Flash totaled 10 aces and six service errors in the match, while Navy accrued just six aces and 14 service errors on the night.

"Saint Francis really picked up their serving as the match went on," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "Even if they did not get an ace on their serves, they were tough enough to put us out of our system."

Another key to the match was the ability of the Red Flash to piece together runs of points throughout the contest. It appeared the Mids gained some breathing room in game one by breaking open a 19-19 game with six-straight points, but Saint Francis responded by scoring eight of the next nine points to take a 27-26 lead. The teams traded points and then the Mids tied the game at 28-28 on a kill from Alexa Gibbs (So., Springfield, Ill.). The Mids won the game after forcing the Red Flash into back-to-back hitting errors.

Another 8-1 run by Saint Francis gave the visitors an 18-11 lead in game two, then the Red Flash took control of game three right from the start by taking a 17-9 advantage. Game four was tied at 16-16 until Saint Francis scored the next seven points to take a 23-16 lead. The Mids would pull to within 24-22, but the Red Flash closed the game and the match by scoring six of the next eight points.

"Saint Francis was able to build some distance from ourselves in games two and three, but their gain in confidence started late in game one," said Schwob. "We opened the door for them to gain some momentum and they took advantage of it and carried that through the next two games. They raised their intensity level and we did not respond to it as consistently as we needed to."

Despite the loss, Navy was barely outhit by the Red Flash on the night, .268-.263, and the Mids totaled more kills (68-54) and digs (53-45) than the Red Flash tallied. The difference was at the service line where the Mids finished -8 in aces-to-service errors while Saint Francis finished at +4.

Individually, Rachel Dougherty (Jr., Derwood, Md.) led Navy with 15 kills, while Megan Boyd (Sr., Richmond, Va.) and Jessie Sims (So., Etowah, N.C.) knocked down 13 kills apiece. Sims also led all players with 20 digs in the match.

Anne Roosevelt's 22 kills paced the Red Flash offensively, while Roosevelt and Lauren Parisi both tallied 11 digs on the night.

Navy will now take to the road for a trio of matches this weekend at the Elon Tournament. The Mids will face UAB Friday and both TCU and the host Phoenix Saturday.