Sept. 22, 2006
Complete Box Score in PDF Format
Final Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After rallying to force a fifth game, the Navy volleyball team scored eight of the final 10 points of the match to post a 22-30, 30-28, 36-30, 31-29, 15-9 victory over Lehigh, Friday night in Bethlehem, Pa. The match was the Patriot League opener for the Mids, while the Mountain Hawks fell to 0-2 in league matches.
"We really needed to win a match like this," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "Coming back to win on the road in front of a packed crowd gives us a lot of confidence. Tonight shows what we went through during the preseason prepared us for league play."
The Mids forced a fifth game after rallying from a 26-24 deficit in game four. The decisive final game was tied at 7-7 when Navy scored four of the next five points to take an 11-8 lead. From there, the Mids closed the game on another 4-1 run, with the final point of the match coming on a service ace from team captain Megan Boyd (Sr., Richmond, Va.).
Navy outhit Lehigh in the match, .158 to .122, and held a .150 to a -.111 advantage in game five. The Mids tallied 14 blocks during the match, while the Mountain Hawks totaled four blocks. Sparking the Navy defense was Rachel Dougherty (Jr., Derwood, Md.) who posted a career-high nine block assists and Boyd who finished with three solo blocks and six block assists.
Jessie Sims (So., Etowah, N.C.) and Nikki England (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) each tallied a double-double in the match for Navy. Sims knocked down 17 kills and hauled in 21 digs, while England recorded 14 kills and 14 digs.
Navy won't have much time to enjoy the victory as the Mids will remain in the Lehigh Valley for a Saturday afternoon match at Lafayette. First serve is slated for 4 p.m.
"Lafayette won the opening game in their match against American Thursday night, so I expect another hard-fought match tomorrow afternoon," said Schwob.
