Nov. 12, 2011
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy volleyball team concluded its 2011 campaign with a three-set loss to Lehigh Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Mountain Hawks posted a 25-15, 25-19, 25-18 victory over the Midshipmen.
"What I am going to remember the most about this team is the tenacity they displayed all season, right up to the final point of today's match," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "There was never any quit in them. Today, even when Lehigh reached match point, we were able to string together a few points and made Lehigh earn that last point."
Lehigh (19-9, 10-4 Patriot League) built an early 10-5 lead over Navy (6-23, 1-13) in the first set. The Mountain Hawks soon turned a 16-10 lead into a 23-10 advantage as they won the opening frame.
The second set would prove to be much closer than the first set was. The score would be tied seven times in the set, including at 16-16. Lehigh scored a pair of points to break the tie, which was followed by a kill from Carolyn Ewert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.) that made the score 18-17. The Mountain Hawks would close out the set with a 7-2 run to take a 2-0 lead in sets in the match.
Lehigh would then score seven of the first eight points of the third set and would lead by at least four points over the remainder of the set.
Lehigh's offense recorded 34 kills, a .191 attack percentage and 10 service aces. Meanwhile, its defense held Navy to 24 kills, a .087 attack percentage and two aces.
"I think the difference in the match was the serving," said Bock. "They were able to get us out of system with their serve and we could not do the same with ours. But I did think we blocked the ball real well tonight (6.0 team blocks)."
Playing in the final match of their respective careers were Navy seniors Maida Kalic' (Vernon, N.Y.) and Holly Berger (Claremont, Calif.). Kalic' led the Navy offense with eight kills and a .353 hitting percentage, while Berger grabbed a team-high 10 digs.
"It was nice to see our seniors play well tonight," said Bock. "I was joking on the bench with Kaitlin Roseti (Sr., Williamsville, N.Y.) (who has been out all season with a knee injury) that I was planning on subbing her into the match. I was happy Holly and Maida could have strong performances in their last matches."
