Sept. 5, 2008
Final Stats
Box Score in PDF Format
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- The Navy volleyball team posted a hitting percentage three hundred points higher than Winston-Salem State in recording a 25-17, 25-11, 25-16 victory over the Lady Rams, Friday afternoon in Boiling Springs, N.C. The match was the first of three for the Mids this weekend at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic hosted by Gardner-Webb.
Navy (4-0) had a great start to the match by jumping out a 12-1 advantage in the opening set and leading by double figures over the remainder of the set. The second and third sets were much tighter, but the Mids were able to separate themselves from the Lady Rams (0-4) during the middle of each set. Navy used a 17-4 run to turn a 5-5 tie early in the second set into a 22-9 lead, then went on a 9-3 run early in the third set to take a 17-7 advantage.
"It was good for this team to pick up a three-set win on the road this early in the season," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "I thought our starters really came out firing at the start of the match and put us into a great rhythm. When we went to our bench they kept the level of play very high, just as they did last week for us."
The Mids as a team hit over .300 in each of the three sets to finish with an overall percentage of .389, while limiting Winson-Salem State to a percentage of .115 or lower in each set and holding the Lady Rams to an overall mark of .052. Navy also dropped in eight service aces to just three for Winston-Salem State.
Alexa Gibbs (Sr., Springfield, Ill.) knocked down six kills on seven swings in the opening set, Abbie Merkl (Jr., Upper Marlboro, Md.) was a perfect five kills on five attempts in the second set, with Gibbs recording five kills and one error on eight attacks in set number three.
Gibbs would finish the match with 12 kills and one error on 18 attempts (.611), while Merkl recorded nine kills and no errors on 10 attempts (.900). Additionally, Krista Eschelman (Jr., Germantown, Md.) contributed eight kills and just one error on 14 attempts (.500) in the match.
Defensively for Navy, North Carolina-native Jessie Sims (Sr., Etowah, N.C.) led the Mids with 11 digs, Holly Berger (Fr., Claremont, Calif.) added 10 digs and Merkl tallied a trio of blocks for the Mids. Berger also accounted for three of Navy's eight aces in the match.
Navy will close play in the Runnin' Bulldog Classic Saturday with matches against tournament-host Gardner-Webb at 10 a.m. and Charleston Southern at 3 p.m.
