Oct. 24, 2014 Final Stats
BALTIMORE, Md. -- A pair of late rallies in the second and fourth sets sandwiched around a decisive third set allowed the Navy volleyball team to emerge with a hard-fought, four-set victory over Loyola, Friday night at Reitz Arena in Baltimore. The Mids came away with a 25-27, 25-23, 25-11, 25-22 victory over the Greyhounds in a contest that saw the score tied 47 times and lead change hands on 14 occasions.
Tonight's match came one week after the Mids had defeated the Greyhounds in three sets in Annapolis.
"This was somewhat predictable," said Navy head coach Larry Bock, of having a much tougher match tonight. "I thought we had a good week of practice, but Loyola really came ready to play tonight. They played hard. They played some fantastic volleyball. Loyola clearly was on a mission tonight while we were on a trip.
"But to the credit of our players, they figured things out at the right time and were able to come away with an important road win."
The opening set was a sign of things to come as neither team could shake the other. Navy (9-9, 6-3 Patriot League) held a 15-10 lead in the middle of the set before Loyola (2-21, 0-9) tied the score at 17-17. After the score was tied at 19-19, the Greyhounds notched four of the next five points to take a 23-20 lead. Back came the Mids with a Loyola attack error followed by consecutive Navy kills to tie the set at 23-23. A Loyola kill gave it a 24-23 lead, with the Mids answering on a kill by Gaby Smith (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) to tie the set. Loyola would score to go up, 25-24, but Smith knotted it up again with another kill. Loyola took another one-point lead on a kill, then Smith was blocked to end the next point and give the Greyhounds the first set.
Loyola was the team to build a slight lead in the second set as it took a 17-14 lead at one point. Navy scored the ensuing five points to take a 19-17 lead, then extended it out to three points at 21-18. The teams traded sideouts until the Mids were up, 23-20, then a Loyola kill and a block by the Greyhounds cut the margin down to one point at 23-22. The Mids went back to Smith on the next play and she responded with a kill to take Navy to set point. A service error by the Mids cut the lead in half, but Alex Cassel (Sr., Sandy, Utah) answered with a kill on the next point to even the match at one set apiece.
Navy used an 8-1 run in the early part of the third set to turn a slim 7-6 lead into a 15-7 cushion to win the frame and go up, 2-1, in sets. However, any lasting momentum from that set ended as soon as the fourth set started.
The score was either tied or the teams were within one point of each other from the beginning of the set through 11-11. At that point the Greyhounds ran off the ensuing six points to take a 17-11 advantage. Navy winnowed the deficit down to two points at 18-16, but Loyola managed to quickly double that margin and take a 21-17 lead.
A kill by Katie Sylakowski (Jr., Escondido, Calif.) made it a three-point difference, then back-to-back aces from Maggie Phillips (Fr., Leesburg, Va.) pulled the Mids to within one point (21-20) and lead to a Loyola timeout. Sylakowski and Star Steele (Jr., Tampa, Fla.) continued the Navy run with a block to tie the set at 21-21. Steele was called for an attack error to give Loyola a 22-21 lead, but that would turn out to be the final point the Greyhounds would score on the night. Smith put down back-to-back kills before recording a solo block to take the Mids to match point with a 24-22 lead. Cassel and Steele would then combine for a block to end the two-hour contest.
"We didn't necessarily play that great on defense at the start of the match," said Bock. "Part of that was how well Loyola played. They were just terrific and we weren't completely ready on defense for that. The good part was that we found a new gear as the match went on."
Statistically, it wasn't a pretty match as the teams combined for 45 attack errors, 26 service errors, 16 receiving errors and six ball-handling errors. Navy would hold a .254-.098 advantage in hitting percentage despite posting just four more kills (47-43) on seven fewer attempts (133-126) than Loyola had. The Mids also recorded 11 blocks to just 4 for the Greyhounds, with Loyola snaring 57 digs to Navy's 55.
Individually, Sylakowski led Navy with both 12 kills and a .333 attack percentage, while Smith added 11 kills and Phillips had 8 kills to go along with her 3 aces and 9 digs. Sylakowski also chipped in six bocks, with setter Steele contributing five blocks. Rachel Fortner (Fr., Villa Hills, Ky.) dropped in four aces for the Mids and snared 15 digs, with her latter number falling one shy of Alli Graf's (So., Annapolis, Md.) team-high 16 digs.
"Our middle hitters really saved us tonight," said Bock. "Both Katie and Alex (seven kills, .263 hitting percentage, four bocks) had good nights."
Loyola's offense was led by Molly Cichosz, who posted 17 kills but just a .154 attack percentage, and by Jane Lukas, who finished the night with 11 kills and a -.102 hitting percentage. Leading all players in attack percentage in the match was Loyola's Corri Waters, who had had nine kills and zero attack errors on 13 swings for a mark of .692.
Navy will face Lafayette Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Wesley A. Brown Field House. That match will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network through NavySports.com.
