Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" The Navy volleyball team overcame a slow start to the match to force a fifth set before couldn't carry that momentum any further in a loss to Colgate Friday evening at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Raiders held on for a 25-14, 25-14, 17-25, 24-26, 15-7 victory.

"We have proven to be a good backs-to-the-wall team," said Navy head coach Larry Bock, "but we are digging things too deep."

Colgate (5-10, 3-1 Patriot League) dictated play during the first two sets of the evening. The Raiders posted a .424-.164 hitting percentage advantage over the Mids (2-14, 0-3) in building a 2-0 advantage in sets.

"We passed abominably and were highly disorganized defensively," said Bock of Navy's play in the first two sets. "Colgate did a really good job of capitalizing on both of those areas with its serve and ability to throw some change-ups at us."

Bock switched the lineup around prior to the start of the third set and it paid dividends immediately. The Mids jumped out to a 6-2 lead at the start of the set and then turned a slim 12-10 lead into a 17-11 cushion on their way to winning the frame. The fourth set saw Colgate slowly build a 15-11 lead only to see Navy tie the score at 16-16.

The Raiders would take a number of two-point cushions â€"â€" 18-16, 19-17, 21-19, 22-20, 23-21 â€"â€" before taking a 24-21 lead to get to match point. A kill by setter Patricia Mattingly (Fr., New Albany, Ind.) erased Colgate's first opportunity to win the match, then a kill by Dorothy Murray (So., Harbor City, Calif.) pulled the Mids to within one of the Raiders. Olivia Kluger (So., Carmel, Ind.) followed Murray's kill with one of her own to tie the score at 24-24.

The Navy run continued when Colgate committed an attack error to give Navy a 25-24 lead, then Mattingly set Kluger for another kill to send the match into a fifth set.

"There was just a noticeable infusion of energy by our team coming out of the locker room after the second set," said Bock. "They did that on their own. I tip my cap to them for pulling together and changing the complete mood and tenor of what was a really ugly volleyball match."

Navy hit .260 over sets three and four while limiting Colgate to a mark of .110.

Colgate quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead at the start of the fifth set, but Navy soon built a 5-4 advantage of its own. After the teams traded sideouts to make the score 6-5 in favor of the Mids, the Raiders ran off the next five points to take a 10-6 lead. A Navy kill was followed by Colgate scoring the ensuing five points to close out the two-hour contest.

"We became real conservative when we should have been playing fast and loose, and we made some crazy contacts when we should have been conservative," said Bock of Navy's fifth-set play.

Colgate totaled 59 kills and a .261 attack percentage for the night while Navy tallied 53 kills and hit .184. The Raiders also held slim advantages in aces (9-7) and blocks (6-3) while the Mids finished plus one in digs (69-68) for the evening.

Both Murray, who played just the last three sets of the match, and Shelby McCool (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) who played in four sets, tallied nine kills to lead the Navy offense, with Murray hitting .304 in her limited court time. Mattingly added eight kills, hit .438, dished out 39 assists and grabbed 12 digs while Hannah Hirzel (Fr., Fullerton, Calif.) contributed seven kills and a .400 attack percentage. Additionally, Kluger contributed seven kills with only one error on 15 swings for a .400 hitting night to go along with 10 digs, while Sydney Shearn (Fr., Louisville, Ky.) ended the contest with 20 digs and four aces.

"When we looked out onto the floor as we were playing some very good volleyball tonight," said Bock, "we saw four freshmen on the court. There are pluses and minuses that go with youth, but we will continue to look at those pluses and minuses and at the same time expect that our older generation of players will provide the foundation for the continued growth of our youth and our entire team."

Navy will be back in the Wesley A. Brown Field House Tuesday when the Mids play host to American.