Sept. 13, 2008
Final Stats
Navy-Duquesne Box Score PDF Format
Navy-Hampton Box Score in PDF Format
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Navy volleyball team closed play at the Fiesta Bowl Classic by dropping a three-set decision to Duquesne and posting a three-set sweep over Hampton.
Northern Arizona def Navy, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18)
The Lumberjacks (7-1) posted a hitting percentage of .299 and held Navy (5-3) to an attack percentage of .181 in recording the three-set win over the Midshipmen.
Each of the three sets were tight until the middle of the set when the Lumberjacks were able to slightly separate themselves from the Mids. Navy held a 14-12 lead in the opening set until an 8-1 run gave the Lumberjacks a 20-15 advantage. The second set was tied 15-15 until a 5-0 run by Northern Arizona gave the Lumberjacks enough of a cushion to hold off the Mids. Navy then held a 10-9 lead in set number three until the Lumberjacks went on another 5-0 run to pull away from the Mids.
"We played a better match today than we did last night against Duquesne," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "We brought a lot more intensity to the court today and did a better job of fighting point for point. We probably had our best serving match of the year in terms of aggressiveness, but to Northern Arizona's credit they handled everything we threw at them.
"We were right there in every set until the middle of them. We need to get over that hump and not allow runs late in sets like Northern Arizona had today. Even with those deficits, I never felt we were out of the match because of how we were playing. Most of the points consisted of long rallies, so we had our opportunities."
Barbara Beal (Jr., Patchogue, N.Y.) tallied a career-high 12 kills and totaled a .435 attack percentage to pace the Navy offense on the afternoon. However, she was the only Mid to reach double figures in kills. Northern Arizona, in contrast, had three players reach double digits in kills. Lexi Sullivan led the Lumberjacks with 13 kills, while Emily Osladacz and Katie Bailey each knocked down 11 kills.
Defensively, Jessie Sims (Sr., Etowah, N.C.) and Marissa Watson (Sr., Redondo Beach, Calif.) led Navy with eight digs apiece, with Osladacz tallying six blocks for NAU.
Navy def. Hampton, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21)
Jessie Sims (Sr., Etowah, N.C.), Alexa Gibbs (Sr., Springfield, Ill.) and Aubrey Manes (Jr., Pratt, Kan.) combined for 31 kills and just two errors on 58 attempts to help Navy (6-3) snap a three-match skid with the win over Hampton (0-11).
Unlike Navy's first match of the day when it allowed Northern Arizona to pull away from the Mids in the middle of each set, this time it was Navy who was able to separate themselves from Hampton.
The Mids held a slim 7-6 lead in the opening set before a 6-0 run by Navy gave the Mids a 13-6 advantage. Neither team scored more than two consecutive points over the remainder of the set as the Mids took the 1-0 lead. Navy again held a one-point lead at 10-9 in the second set, but broke the set open with a 5-0 run and kept that advantage all the way to the end of the set.
Navy could not separate itself from Hampton in the third set, however, and the frame was soon tied at 20-20. Krista Eschelman (Jr., Germantown, Md.) proceeded to tally a kill to give Navy a 21-20 lead, then a ball-handling error and an attack error by the Pirates gave the Mids a 23-20 lead. Eschelman quickly recorded another kill to take Navy to match point. The Pirates posted a kill of their own to stave off Navy's first opportunity, but Sims converted a kill on the ensuing play to give the Mids the victory.
"We played a much cleaner match this evening than we did earlier in the day," said Schwob. "Our offense was able to find a rhythm early."
The Mids totaled a .349 hitting percentage in the match while holding the Pirates to a .239 percentage. Hampton held a 43-33 advantage in digs, but Navy was helped in the match by holding a 7-1 lead in service aces.
Gibbs posted a hitting percentage of .556 (11K-1E-18 Att.), Sims recorded 12 kills and no errors on 24 swings for a hitting percentage of .500, and Manes tallied eight kills and one error on 16 swings for a mark of .438. Gibbs also added a trio of service aces in the match.
Navy libero Holly Berger (Fr., Claremont, Calif.) hauled in 12 digs on the night and tied Sims for the team lead on the weekend with 23 digs to be named to the Fiesta Bowl Classic All-Tournament Team.
"Even though we only won one of our three matches at the tournament, this weekend was very valuable for us," said Schwob. "We learned a lot about ourselves as a team and are already anxious to apply those lessons this coming week."
Navy returns home for a pair of matches this week against Howard and Wagner. The Mids will take on the Bison Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Macdonough Hall, then will face the Seahawks Friday at 6 p.m. in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.
