Sept. 23, 2008
Final Stats
Box Score in PDF Format
BALTIMORE, Md. - Nine different players recorded at least one kill in the match for the Navy volleyball team as the Midshipmen posted a 25-18, 25-19, 25-17 victory over Coppin State, Tuesday night at the Coppin Center in Baltimore.
Navy used a pair of 4-0 runs to build leads of 15-9 and 21-13 in the opening set before going on to win the set by the score of 25-18. The Mids would tally just a .167 attack percentage in the set, but held Coppin State to a mark of .120.
The Mids trailed 15-14 in the second set until Aubrey Manes (Jr., Pratt, Kan.) tallied a kill to tie the score at 15-15. Jenny Rudewicz (So., Winter Garden, Fla.) then stepped to the service line for the Mids and promptly helped Navy score the next five points to take a 20-15 advantage. Manes began the run with two more kills, with a pair of Coppin State attack errors, an ace by Rudewicz and a kill from Alexa Gibbs (Sr., Springfield, Ill.) rounding out the scoring. From there, the teams traded points before the Mids closed out the set.
Both teams put together their most productive hitting percentages of the match in set number two. Navy finished with a percentage of .423, with the Eagles tallying a mark of .208 during the frame.
"Jenny made a huge difference for us tonight when she came into the match," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "She kept the pace of play fast with both her serving and setting and allowed us to get into a great rhythm."
Navy quickly built a 13-4 lead in the final set and held a comfortable lead over its remainder before ending the match.
The Mids held a hitting percentage advantage in the match of .236-.082, thanks in part to Navy grabbing 35 digs and Coppin State hauling in 22.
Individually, Gibbs totaled 11 kills and hit .364 on the night to lead all players, Meghan Carpenter (Fr., Frederick, Md.) recorded career highs of eight kills and a .312 attack percentage and Rudewicz handed out a match-high 19 assists.
"It was nice to see our bench contribute handily to our win tonight," said Schwob. "We will need production from them over the remainder of the season in order to have success."
The win gives Navy a record of 9-3 this season heading into this weekend's Patriot League opening matches against Bucknell and Colgate. The Mids will face the Bison Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. match Saturday against the Raiders. Both contests will be played in the Wesley A. Brown Field House on The Yard and there is no admission fee for any Navy home volleyball match.
"We're excited about the start of our league season," said Schwob. "Everything we have done since our first practice in August has been to get ourselves ready for Patriot League play. We are looking forward to having several good days of practice followed by two challenging matches."
