Sept. 28, 2007

Final Stats

Complete Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A 3-0 run midway through the fifth game provided enough of a cushion for the American volleyball team to record a 28-30, 30-14, 33-31, 20-30, 15-11 victory over Navy, Friday night in Macdonough Hall. The victory boosts American record on the year to 11-6 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League, while Navy fell to 11-6 on the season and 1-2 in league matches with the loss.

"It was a great match," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "I give our girls a lot of credit for how they responded to the many highs and lows of the match. There were a number of instances where we dug holes for ourselves, but we came back strong each time. Resiliency like that will go a long ways towards a successful season."

The opening game was a sign of how close the match would be. The score was tied 25 times, with the last tie coming at 28-28. A kill from Rachel Dougherty (Sr., Derwood, Md.) gave Navy a 29-28 lead, then Lindi Conner (Sr., Kingman, Kan.) and Abbie Merkl (So., Upper Marlboro, Md.) teamed on a block to close out the game for the Mids.

American evened up the score in games with a dominating performance in the second game. The Eagles jumped out to leads of 6-0, 12-1 and 15-3 on their way to recording a 30-14 victory.

Game three saw Navy take the lead at 12-11 and the Mids held a slim edge over the Eagles until taking a 27-24 advantage following back-to-back kills by Alexa Gibbs (Jr., Springfield, Ill.). The Eagles quickly scored the next four points to take a 28-24 lead, but an American service error and an attack error gave Navy a 29-28 lead and allowed Jessie Sims (Jr., Etowah, N.C.) to serve for the game. The Eagles tied the game at 29-29 on a kill from Rubena Sukaj, but Navy again reached game point when Dougherty tallied a block.

American went to Sukaj again and she dropped in another kill to tie the game at 30-30, then the Eagles reached their first opportunity to serve for the game following an ace by Christina Nash. Navy went back to its top attacker, Dougherty, who responded with a kill to tie the game at 31-31, the 12th tie of the game. Again, the Eagles looked to Sukaj and she answered again with a kill, then Dougherty committed an attack error to give American a two-games-to-one advantage.

The Eagles started game four strong by scoring six of the opening eight points. American would soon hold a 7-5 lead in the game when Navy went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-7 advantage. After the Eagles closed to within two points at 15-13, Navy went on a 5-1 run to build a 20-14 advantage on its way to taking a 25-16 lead and eventually forcing a fifth game.

Navy took a 7-6 lead in the final game following a service ace from Gibbs, but the Eagles went on their aforementioned 3-0 run to take a 9-7 lead. A poor pass by the Mids allowed American to tie the score, Dougherty was blocked by the duo of Nash and Chelsa Brooks, and Cassandra Ricketts dropped in a service ace for the Eagles. Navy pulled to within one point at 9-8 when Dougherty knocked down a kill, but a blocking error by Navy and a close attack error by Sims returned the three-point margin to American and allowed the Eagles to play sideout volleyball to close out the match.

The win gives American an 86-1 record in Patriot League regular season matches since joining the league for the 2001 season. The match marked the first time Navy was able to extend the Eagles to a fifth game during the 13 regular season matches played between the teams during this span.

"We definitely had our opportunities tonight," said Schwob. "We put ourselves in a great position to win game three, but American made the plays down the stretch to win it. We need to be the one applying the pressure and making those plays."

"We want to make progress in every match. Going to five games against American is another sign of that progress. We are disappointed in the loss, but we can take many good things from tonight. Most importantly that we need to bring the passion, intensity and drive we showed tonight through the remainder of our league matches. Tonight showed that good things come when you work hard, but we have to continue working hard to reach the success we want to have. We do not want to take a step back next week."

Even with being outscored by 16 points in the second game, Navy totaled only 10 fewer points in the match than American did (126-116). Navy's offense totaled 65 kills and a .159 attack percentage, while American finished the two-hour and 20-minute match with a .171 hitting percentage. Both teams tallied nine team blocks, with American finishing with four more service aces (11-7) and digs (72-68) than Navy totaled.

Sukaj led all players with 26 kills on the night, with Sims' 24 and Dougherty's 23 pacing the Navy offense. Sims also record a double-double with 13 digs, while Dougherty's four blocks tied her with Conner for the Navy lead.

In the battle of sisters, Navy's Aimee' Burns hauled in 16 digs in five games, while American's Cynammon Burns finished with eight digs in three games.

The Mids will step out of conference play Tuesday night for a match at Loyola, then will play host to Bucknell Friday evening and Colgate Saturday afternoon in Macdonough Hall.