Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" The youthful Navy volleyball team saw its rally from an 0-2 deficit in sets to Maryland fall just short in a five-set defeat to the Terrapins Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. Maryland hung on for a 25-12, 25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 15-11 win over the Mids as part of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational.

Navy's initial match of the day â€"â€" which concluded just 70 minutes prior to the start of its match against the Terps â€"â€" saw the Mids fall to Texas Tech by set scores of 25-21, 25-14 and 25-21.

"This was another important weekend for us in terms of the development of this team," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "We saw that this team plays really hard. Eventually and ultimately, playing that way will translate into success.

"We clearly are in a means-to-an-end situation with the schedule we have faced. The good results will come later."

Navy (2-8) struggled in its first set against Maryland (10-1) as the Terps outhit the Mids, .529 to -.032. The Mids were then within three points of the Terrapins late in the second set (20-17) before the visitors scored the next four points to finally build some separation.

A revamped starting lineup (including the libero) featuring three freshmen, three sophomores and one senior took to the court for Navy at the beginning of the third set and it paid dividends right away as the Mids jumped out to a 10-5 advantage. The Navy lead hovered between four and six points until the Terps sliced it down to three points at 17-14. The teams played sideout volleyball over the ensuing six points, which led to Navy taking a 20-17 lead. The Mids gained another sideout to push its lead to four points on a block from Katie Patrick (Fr., Aurora, Colo.), then an ace by Star Steele (Sr., Tampa, Fla.) gave the Mids a 22-17 lead. The squads traded kills before Shelby McCool (So., Eugene, Ore.) dropped in a service ace to take the Mids to set point at 24-18. Maryland promptly scored the next three points, but a kill by Olivia Kluger (So., Carmel, Ind.) gave the Mids the set.

Neither team gained any type of advantage over the other in the early part of the fourth set. Navy slowly built a three-point lead at 17-14 only to see Maryland winnow the margin down to one point at 21-20. A Maryland service error followed by a block from Hannah Hirzel (Fr., Fullerton, Calif.) gave the Mids a 23-20 lead, then another kill from Kluger took Navy to set point. Maryland notched a kill and a block to cut the four-point lead in half (24-22), but a kill by the Mids sent the match into a fifth set.

Maryland quickly scored six of the first eight points of the fifth set. Navy was able to cut the deficit down to two points at 6-4, 7-5 and 10-8, but the Terps ran off the next three points to provide them enough of a cushion to hold off any further rallies the Mids and end the two-hour match.

The two teams each recorded 59 kills in the match, but Maryland held advantages over Navy in both digs (49-44) and blocks (10-5) to also build a .338-.236 lead in attack percentage over the course of the contest.

Tara Dotzauer (So., Raleigh, N.C.) paced Navy with 16 kills, Kluger recorded 13 kills and a .407 attack percentage to go along with a team-high 15 digs, while Hirzel chalked up 11 kills. Additionally, Dorothy Murray (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) posted nine kills on 21 swings, and Steele distributed the ball well to the tune of 29 assists.

"Olivia and Dorothy really found another gear midway through the match," said Bock. "Mostly it was just our getting comfortable with the speed, angles and trajectory of the ball at a level we need to be comfortable at. Maryland, and all of the teams we faced this weekend, allowed us to see things we just cannot replicate in the practice gym. That is vitally important at this time of year."

Maryland's Adreene Elliott recorded 18 kills while hitting .571.

Navy's opening match of the day also featured several nice rallies that went for naught in a loss to Texas Tech (7-2). The Mids trailed 22-12 in the first set before closing to within 23-21. After the Red Raiders held on to the separation they had built in the middle of the second frame to take a 2-0 lead, they took an 18-11 advantage in the third set only to see Navy pull to within three points at 24-21. A Texas Tech kill would end the match.

The Red Raiders posted 40 kills and a .295 attack percentage while limiting the Mids to 30 kills and a .115 attack percentage.

Kluger, who was named to the all-tournament team this weekend, led Navy with 10 kills while hitting .304. Gaby Smith (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) paced the Navy defense with 10 digs.

"You just can't put any kind of number on the value of these quality competitive experiences we are seeing right now," said Bock. "If we heed and apply the lessons of the first month of the season, we are going to learn to slam the door on opponents real fast."

Navy will close out its non-league slate by taking part in a tournament at Syracuse Sept. 19-20. The Mids will face Buffalo, Syracuse and New Hampshire over the course of the two days.

All-Tournament Team
Olivia Kluger, Navy
Maddy Doyle, George Washington
Chidima Osuchukwu, George Washington (MVP)
Abigail Bentz, Maryland
Ashlyn MacGregor, Maryland
Lauren Douglas, Texas Tech
Meghan Stacy, Texas Tech