Oct. 8, 2008

Final Stats

Box Score in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy volleyball team overcame deficits in each of the three sets to post a 32-30, 25-20, 25-23 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) Wednesday night at Macdonough Hall in Annapolis. The win is the fourth in a row for the Mids, who also improved to 13-5 on the season with the victory.

"This was a very good win for us," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "We were challenged throughout the match, but we kept our composure, continued to work hard and eventually good things started to happen for us. It very well may have been our most complete match of the season."

Navy trailed by scores of 14-9 and 20-16 in the opening set before tying the score for the first time at 20-20. The Mids would soon take a 23-21 lead, which the Red Flash (6-15) quickly erased with a 3-0 run. Saint Francis then served for the opening set at both 24-23 (service error) and 25-24 (Navy kill). The Mids then took a 26-25 lead and were able to serve for the set, but a Red Flash kill erased the opportunity. The teams traded the next nine points -- with Navy either tied or serving for the set -- before Alexa Gibbs (Sr., Springfield, Ill.) tallied a kill to give the Mids the two-point win.

The two teams combined for 40 kills and just 22 digs in the opening set of the match.

Saint Francis would take a slim three-point lead early in the second set until a Krista Eschelman (Jr., Germantown, Md.) kill knotted things up at 8-8. From there, the score would be tied six more times, with what would prove to be the last tie coming at 15-15. A kill by Jessie Sims (Sr., Etowah, N.C.) and a service ace by Gibbs started a 4-1 run for the Mids that gave Navy a little breathing room at 19-16. Saint Francis closed to within two points at 19-17 and 20-18, but Navy scored five of the last seven points of the set to take a 2-0 lead in sets.

The Red Flash again started out fast in set number three and soon built a 12-7 advantage. Navy clawed its way back into the contest and eventually tied the score at 18-18. A few points later, after a Saint Francis attack error tied the score again at 20-20, Gibbs, who is ranked eighth nationally in service ace average this year, stepped back to serve for the Mids. Her first serve resulted in a kill for Sims, then she dropped in an ace to give Navy a 22-20 lead. Following a timeout by the Red Flash, the Navy lead grew to 23-20 when Kristin Butler was called for a ball-handling error. Butler then was blocked by Navy setter Marissa Watson -- the first solo block by the Navy team captain this year and the fourth of her career -- to take Navy to match point at 24-20.

Butler atoned for her back-to-back miscues with a kill, then a Shirley Miller kill and a block by the duo of Rikki Myers and Kayla Greenwalt led to the Red Flash pulling to within one point at 24-23. Saint Francis served again, but Sims immediately knocked down her 15th kill of the evening to end the match.

The Mids held advantages over the Red Flash in kills (49-41), hitting percentage (.269-.223), service aces (5-3) and digs (47-39), all of which balanced out the 10.0-3.0 advantage in blocks Saint Francis enjoyed in the contest.

Sims would pace all players in the match with her 15 kills and her .306 attack percentage would lead the Mids. Joining her in double figure kills for Navy was Gibbs with 11 and Aubrey Manes (Jr., Pratt, Kan.) with a career-high 10. Additionally, Abbie Merkl (Jr., Upper Marlboro, Md.) totaled eight kills, a .278 hitting percentage, two aces, seven digs and a pair of blocks, while Holly Berger (Fr., Claremont, Calif.) grabbed one dozen digs for Navy.

Butler tallied 11 kills and Miller added 10 to lead the Saint Francis offense, with Miller also grabbing a match-high 13 digs. Greenwalt finished with six blocks to lead all players on the night.

"We were very balanced tonight on both offense and defense," said Schwob. "To have four players with at least eight kills and four with at least seven digs really demonstrates that. We are going to need contributions from everyone to continue with the success we have recently enjoyed."

Navy now takes to the road for its next three matches, a stretch that begins Friday night when the Mids make the short drive to the District of Columbia to face American. Match time is slated for 7 p.m. in Bender Arena.