Aug. 27, 2011
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Air Force used sizeable runs in each of the three sets to post a 25-21, 25-17, 25-21, victory over the Navy volleyball team Saturday at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.
Air Force (1-2) began the day by opening up a 15-11 lead over Navy (0-3) midway through the first set. The Mids were able to slice the margin down to just one point at 17-16, but the Falcons quickly ran off five of the next six points to build a 22-17 advantage.
The second set also was close in the early going until a 6-1 run gave Air Force a 17-11 lead. The Mids did cut the deficit down to three points at 20-17, but Air Force closed out the second set with a 5-0 run.
The third set proved was the closest of the match as the score was tied on 10 different occasions. The 10th and final tie of the set came at 18-18 when Maida Kalic' (Sr., Vernon, N.Y.) knocked down a kill for the Mids. However, that was followed by Air Force recording four consecutive points of its own to build a 22-18 cushion. Navy managed to close to within two points of the Falcons at 23-21 on a kill by Veronica Ffrench (So., Milton, Fla.), but that point by the Mids was followed by back-to-back Air Force kills to conclude the contest.
"At one time or another in each set we gave up fairly large runs that allowed a good Air Force team to break things open," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "I never felt we were in control at any part of the match. That is the biggest challenge for us right now. We need to solidify the first contact and that is where gaining control comes in.
"It was a productive day and productive weekend for us. Now we have been hit by reality. We know what our `to-do' list is. We were not anesthetized by false success. We know we have a team here; the burden is on the coaches to figure it out."
Air Force's offense tallied 31 kills and a .200 attack percentage, while Navy could muster only 21 kills and a .068 attack percentage.
Erin Fortner (So., Villa Hills, Ky.) posted four kills, 14 assists and a .571 attack percentage to lead Navy in all three statistics. Defensively for the Mids, Katie Bray (Jr., Cary, N.C.) led the squad with eight digs and tied Alex Cassel (Fr., Sandy, Utah) for Navy honors with three blocks.
Air Force's Cami Richan paced all players in the match with nine kills.
Navy will next play a trio of matches over Labor Day weekend George Mason's Patriot Invitational. The Mids will face both George Mason (1 p.m.) and High Point (5 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 3, before taking on UNC Greensboro (11 a.m.) the following day.
