Final Stats

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Navy volleyball team closed out play on its first weekend of the season by losing a pair of three-set matches to No. 13 Oregon and Temple Saturday at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia.

"We have spoken at length with our team about the level of competition we faced this weekend (which included a Friday night match against St. John's)," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "It is vital for us to play in an environment that is uncomfortable for us with the opposing teams dictating the pace, tempo, angles and trajectories. That replicates what we will see from the teams at the top of the Patriot League. We could have gone to a tournament where we would have ended up with a 3-0 record and thinking we are pretty good, but that would not have provided any benefit to us down the road. Our team understands that."

In addition to facing three very good teams this weekend, the Mids also saw 2014 starters Rachel Fortner (So., Villa Hills, Ky.), Gaby Smith (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Star Steele (Sr., Tampa, Fla.) receive limited playing time due to injuries. Fortner is coming off an ankle injury she sustained a week ago, Steele was hurt in the first set Friday against St. John's and Smith was hurt in today's first set against Oregon.

"Our youth was predictable today," said Bock. "There were enough remarkable plays from everyone at each position to leave us encouraged as opposed to discouraged."

The Mids began the day with a 25-11, 25-21, 25-15 loss to the Ducks (2-0)

Navy's best frame against Oregon was in the second set. The score was tied 12 times and the lead changed hands on seven occasions. The Mids trailed the Ducks, 12-10, but soon took a 17-14 lead. After briefly falling behind, the Mids scored back-to-back points to take a 21-20 advantage before the Ducks notched the final five points of the frame.

Oregon tallied 33 kills to 18 for the Mids and hit .253 while limiting Navy to a -.084 mark. Dorothy Murray (So., Harbor City, Calif.) posted four kills to lead the Mids, while Darby Minton (Fr., Chino Hills, Calif.) grabbed eight digs.

The Mids (0-3) then fell to the tournament-host Owls (1-1) by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-10.

Temple amassed 52 kills and a .412 hitting percentage with Navy recording just 22 kills and hitting .062. Individually, Murray added six more kills to her day, Tara Dotzauer (So., Raleigh, N.C.) and Olivia Kluger (So., Carmel, Ind.) each tallied five kills and Maggie Phillips (So., Leesburg, Va.) snared 10 digs.

"Dorothy had a great pre-season in the gym," said Bock. "We saw glimpses of what she could do last season. She came into this season really ready. It was just a matter of us being able to get her the reps she needed. There are still plenty of things for her to work on, but her hitting was very effective today."

Navy will again be on the road next weekend when the Mids travel to Akron for another two-day, three-match tournament. The Mids will play the host Zips Friday before taking on Canisius and Saint Francis U. on Sept. 5.

"This was a heavy-duty start to the season," said Bock. "Inside the box scores were some really good performances. We feel we are ahead of schedule in some areas. We will be heartened by those positives and grab and lunch pail and get to work on the lengthy to-do list awaiting us."