Sept. 23, 2011

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Colgate's Kaylee Dougherty totaled 15 kills and teammate Caitlin Cremin hauled in 20 digs to help lead the Raiders to a four-set victory over the Navy volleyball team Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The 18-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 decision served as the Patriot League opening match for both programs.

Navy (5-11, 0-1) couldn't have asked for a better start to the match against Colgate (4-9, 1-0). The Mids scored the first four points of the opening set and maintained that slim lead until breaking out to a 19-12 cushion. The closest the Raiders could winnow the margin down to was four points at 21-17 before Navy tallied the opening frame victory.

"The first set was as good as we have looked all year," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "We made it clear that we were not going to let the ball hit the ground."

The Mids held an 8-7 lead early in the second set when a 5-0 run gave the Raiders a 12-8 advantage. Navy closed to within one point at 13-12, but another small 3-0 Colgate run made the margin four points (16-12). Navy chipped away at the deficit some more and soon it again was a one-point set at 19-18. After the two teams traded sideouts to make the score 20-19, the Raiders notched the ensuing four points to increase their lead to 24-19.

The third set would be very similar to the second in that Navy held a 10-9 lead before Colgate went on a sizeable run. This time it was a 6-0 run that gave the Raiders a 15-10 advantage. The Mids could only slice the margin down to as few as three points at 15-12 before Colgate sprinted away to take a 2-1 leads in sets.

The fourth set saw Colgate take control of the frame early for the first time on the night. The Raiders used a 10-2 run to build a 16-7 lead and were able to lead by at least seven points over the remainder of the set.

"I thought Colgate did a nice job of making adjustments in its offense as the match went on," said Bock. "Their setter (Kaylee Fifer) was exceptional toward the end of the match. She was finding all sorts of one-on-one opportunities for their hitters, which was something we were able to avoid in the first half of the match."

Colgate knocked down 53 kills to just 39 for Navy, while also holding a .241-.139 advantage over the Mids in hitting percentage. The Raiders also held a 72-54 lead over the Mids in digs.

Leading the Navy offense was Katie Bray (Jr., Cary, N.C.) with 15 kills and Carolyn Ewert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.) with 12 kills. Four different Mids hauled in at least 10 digs in the match. Holly Berger (Sr., Claremont, Calif.) led the way with 14, while Ewert, Shelby Mass (So., Owings, Md.) and Christy Rapp (Jr., Royal Oak, Mich.) all grabbed 10 digs apiece. Rapp also recorded a double-double with 10 kills, with Mass adding 34 assists for the Mids.

"There are lots of positives we can take from tonight's match, namely that we are improving at being able to play at a consistently high level for longer periods of time," said Bock.

Navy will be back in the Wesley A, Brown Field House Saturday for a 4 p.m. match against Bucknell.