Nov. 6, 2009

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Clutch plays down the stretch allowed the Navy volleyball team to record a four-set victory over Army Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Midshipmen topped the Black Knights, who entered the match with a 10-0 record in the Patriot League, by scores of 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20 before an overflow crowd of nearly 600 fans.

"First and foremost, I am both excited for and proud of our players," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob. "We've talked all year to them about never quitting or giving up and sooner or later that hard work was going to pay off for them. No matter who we were playing they have gone into every match thinking they were going to win, and that continued right up until the last point of every match. Tonight, that effort was rewarded against a tremendous Army team.

"Secondly, I want to thank all of the fans who were there tonight, especially all of the Cadets from West Point and all of our Midshipmen. It was an electric atmosphere for our sport tonight and the players and coaches from both programs appreciate everyone who was there to support their team. I looked into the crowd and I saw our women's basketball players and coaches, members of our swimming teams and coaches, many other of our student-athletes and non-athletes alike. Seeing that support from their fellow Mids provided a great boost to our players."

"This was a great win for our program," said Navy team captain Abbie Merkl (Sr., Upper Marlboro, Md.). "Our record doesn't indicate how hard this team has worked all season. Tonight was a great building block for our younger players who will be back next year."

The opening set saw the score tied seven times and the lead change hands on four occasions. Army (22-4, 10-1 Patriot League) held a 19-15 advantage before Navy (7-19, 2-9) rallied to take a 22-20 lead. After back-to-back kills by the Black Knights tied the score, the two teams traded the ensuing two points to make it 23-23. Meghan Carpenter (So., Frederick, Md.) knocked down a kill to give Navy the chance to serve for the set, but that opportunity was erased on a kill by Army's Amanda Rowell. Francine Vasquez stepped to the service line for Army but committed an error to give Navy the serve with a 25-24 lead. The Mids were able to convert their second set-point opportunity when Krista Eschelman (Sr., Germantown, Md.) knocked down a kill.

"We trailed in the middle part of the set and that has been a weakness for us this year," said Schwob. "Army had that four-point lead on us, but we didn't fold this time."

Navy carried that momentum into the start of the second set by scoring five of the first six points of the frame. Army quickly answered and pulled to within one point of the Mids at 7-6. The Navy lead was still at one point at 15-14 when an attack error by Army's Amanda Mankus and a kill by Carpenter gave the Mids a 17-14 advantage. The Navy was two points at 18-16 when Eschelman posted a kill and then teamed with Abbie Merkl (Sr., Upper Marlboro, Md.) on a block of Mankus to make the score 20-16. The two teams pretty much traded points over the rest of the set until a Maida Kalic' (So., Vernon, N.Y.) kill ended the set and allowed Navy to take a 2-0 lead in sets.

"One of the keys to the second set was the strong start and then not giving up the lead," said Schwob. "in a close set there is a big difference serving with the chance to extend a lead as opposed to needing the point to close a gap."

When the teams came out of the extended break after the second set, Army quickly built a 10-3 lead. Navy was able to answer, however, and tied the score at 12-12. It would be tied again at 14-14 when the Black Knights went on a 4-0 run to take an 18-14 lead. They were able to hold that advantage over the rest of the set to force a fourth set.

"Army is a great team and that third set was a great example of that," said Schwob. "We were able to dig ourselves out of a hole, but to their credit Army picked up their game after that."

An early 4-0 run gave Navy a 6-2 lead and the margin for the Mids would reach as many as five points at 10-5. Army climbed right back into the set and pulled to within one point at 11-10 before tying the score at 12-12. Navy was able to take two-point leads at 15-13, 16-14 and 17-15. At that point Ndidi Ibe (Fr., North Richland Hills, Texas) knocked down a kill to give the Mids a three-point advantage. The teams played sideout volleyball until Navy took a 22-19 lead. Consecutive attack errors by Army's Rachel Willis allowed Navy to take a 23-19 lead, then another kill by Ibe gave Navy a 24-19 advantage and the opportunity to serve for the match. Army's Fabiola Castro posted a kill to make the score 24-20, but Ibe knocked down another kill to close out the match for the Mids.

"The fourth set was a lot like the second," said Schwob. "Having that little one, two or three-point lead is huge in the latter stages of a set. Again, we were able to maintain the lead no matter how small it was and that was the difference."

Navy's offense posted 60 kills and hit .230 on the night, while its defense held Army to 47 kills and a .165 attack percentage. The Mids held a 49-44 advantage in digs, which helped offset the 10-8 lead the Black Knights had in blocks.

A trio of Mids recorded double figure kills in the match. Leading all players in the contest was Eschelman with a career-high tying 17 kills to go along with a .412 attack percentage. Joining her in double digits was Carpenter with 14 kills and Kalic' with 10. Also playing a huge role in the match was Merkl, who posted a line of seven kills, a .357 hitting percentage, 10 digs and four blocks.

Army's offense was led by Rowell with 15 kills and a .520 hitting percentage.

Navy will close out the home portion of its season Saturday when the Mids play host to Holy Cross in a 2 p.m. game in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.