Sept. 15, 2007

Final Stats

Complete Penn Box Score in PDF Format

Complete Harvard Box Score in PDF Format

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Navy volleyball closed play at the American University Tournament Saturday the same way it began the tournament Friday by losing its first match of the day but bouncing back to win its second match.

Friday, Navy lost a two-hour, five-game match to Cornell before bouncing back to sweep Columbia. Navy's opening match Saturday saw the Mids fall in three games to Penn, with the game scores being 30-23, 30-18, 30-22.

The Quakers outhit the Mids in the match .358-.065 and totaled 41 digs to Navy's 29.

Rachel Dougherty (Sr., Derwood, Md.) led Navy with eight kills, five service aces and two blocks.

"We were able to stay with Penn for the first part of every game, but they managed to separate themselves from us," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "Our offense really struggled. We played hard, though, and I think we could take a lot of positives away from the match."

The loss gave the Mids a 1-2 record during pool play at the tournament, while Penn improved to 3-0 with the win and advanced to face American in the championship match. Navy, meanwhile, placed third on its side of the pool and would go on to play Harvard, the No. 3 team from the other side of the bracket.

Navy closed the tournament strong by posting a 30-21, 30-23, 30-23 win over the Crimson.

The Mids held a 21-19 lead late in game one before scoring nine of the final 11 points of the game. It was a similar story in game two as Navy trailed 22-21 but scored nine of the final 10 points of the game. Game three was a bit easier for Navy as the Mids jumped out to a 14-9 lead and held a lead of at least four points over the remainder of the contest.

Navy's offense totaled a .278 hitting percentage in the match, while its defense held the Crimson to a .151 percentage. The Mids tallied 57 digs, eight service aces and 8.0 team blocks, with the Crimson finishing the match with 36 digs, two aces and 4.0 blocks.

Individually, Dougherty again paced the Navy offense with 16 kills a .371 hitting percentage. She also added two more aces bringing her four-match total to 15, which gave her the Best Server Award at the event.

Also for the Mids against the Crimson, Aimee' Burns (Sr., Dallas, Texas) hauled in 19 digs, with Marissa Watson (Jr., Redondo Beach, Calif.) finishing with 38 assists, six kills and 11 digs.

"I think the Harvard match may have been our most complete match of the year," said Schwob. "The girls worked hard all weekend and it was nice for them to end with such a solid performance."

Navy will play Tuesday at Howard before opening Patriot League play with matches at Holy Cross (Sat., Sept. 22) and at Army (Sun., Sept. 23).