Oct. 12, 2007
Final Stats
Complete Box Score in PDF Format
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy volleyball team totaled a .294 attack percentage and held Lehigh to a .083 mark as the Midshipmen posted a three-game sweep over the Mountain Hawks Friday night at Macdonough Hall. Navy improved to 3-3 in the Patriot League and 14-8 overall on the season with the 30-17, 30-22, 30-25 victory over Lehigh (1-5 Patriot League, 4-13 overall).
The win was Navy's 11th in three games this year, which ties the school record -- held by the 1992 squad -- for the most sweeps recorded by the Mids in a single season.
"I thought we played hard tonight," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "We did had some lapses out there, however. Give Lehigh credit because they took advantage of those situations when we were struggling and forced us into some situations we didn't want to be in. We did recover from those instances, so I am proud of how we worked our way back into a rhythm."
Game one was close in the early stages with the two teams knotted at 9-9. The Mids then went on a 10-4 run to take a 19-13 lead then, following a Lehigh sideout, scored the next eight points to take a 27-14 advantage.
Navy scored the opening four points of the second game but soon found itself holding just an 11-9 lead. Four straight kills by the Mids, with Krista Eschelman (So., Germantown, Md.) recording the first two, and a bad set by the Mountain Hawks soon gave the Mids a 16-9 lead. Navy then held a lead in the six-to-nine point range over the remainder of the game to take a 2-0 lead in games.
The Mids held a 10-8 advantage in game three when Lehigh went on a 8-0 run to open up a 16-10 lead. Navy responded with an 8-0 run of its own to take an 18-16 lead, but the two teams were soon tied again at 25-25. Rachel Dougherty (Sr., Derwood, Md.) and Eschelman each knocked down a kill, then the duo teamed up for a block to give Navy some breathing room with a 28-25 lead. A Lehigh attack error and a service ace from Alexa Gibbs (Jr., Springfield, Ill.) ended the match.
In addition to holding the large advantage in hitting percentage, the Mids also posted 50 kills and 53 digs to 27 kills and 35 digs for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks, however, held a 9-5 advantage in service aces and posted 6.0 team blocks to 5.0 for Navy.
Dougherty tallied a match-high 17 kills and posted a .394 attack percentage on the night, while Gibbs totaled 13 kills, a .429 hitting percentage and a Navy-best three blocks.
Shannon Spafford led Lehigh with six kills and five blocks.
Navy will close the first half of the Patriot League season Saturday afternoon with a 5 p.m. match against Lafayette. The two teams entered play Friday night tied with Bucknell for fourth place in the league standings.
"You can't underestimate the importance of Saturday's match to both teams," said Schwob. "We need to be ready physically, mentally and emotionally and, like tonight, be prepared to do whatever it takes to come out on top."
