Final Stats

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Top-seeded American held off the Navy volleyball team in three sets Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C., in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. The Eagles (26-7) recorded a 25-19, 27-25, 25-22 victory over the fourth-seeded Mids (20-9).

"American just has a lot of firepower," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "It came down to their making plays down the stretch of the second and third sets. It really was their winning the match as opposed to our doing anything to lose it."

American and Navy played 10 sets against each other this season. Six of those sets were decided by no more than three points, with four of them determined by just two points.

The Eagles ran off the first four points of the opening set, but the Mids answered with the next three to climb right back into it. The score was tied at 11-11 when American recorded each of the next five points to open a 16-11 advantage. The Eagles would hold a lead of at least four points over the remainder of the frame.

American tallied 13 kills and just three attack errors in the set (.345 hitting percentage) while limiting Navy to 10 kills and seven errors (.097).

Navy held a slim lead through the majority of the second set, with its largest cushions coming at 12-8, 16-12 and 22-18. American rattled off the next three points to make it 22-19, then the teams played sideout volleyball that soon gave the Mids a 24-22 lead and two set-point opportunities. A Navy attack error that went wide cut the lead in half, then an American kill tied the score at 24-24. Sarena Seelbach (Fr., Chapel Hill, N.C.) recorded a kill to give Navy a 25-24 lead, but a kill by American's Aleksandra Kazala, the Patriot League Player of the Year, tied the score again at 25-25. Kazala dropped back to serve and her effort hit the top of the net and rolled over in between several Mids before falling onto the court for the 26th point of the stanza by the Eagles. A long rally ensued on the next point which was ended by a kill from Vela McBride.

American jumped out to leads of 8-3 and 11-5 in the third set before Navy closed to within one point at 14-13. That was the first of five times the Mids winnowed the margin down to one point â€"â€" 15-14, 16-15, 17-16 and 18-17 â€"â€" before the Eagles took a 20-17 advantage. The score became 21-18 and 22-19 when Tara Dotzauer (Jr., Raleigh, N.C.) knocked down a kill. Shelby McCool (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) and Seelbach combined for a block to make the score 22-21, then another kill from Dotzauer tied the score at 22-22.

McCool was blocked on the ensuing point, then American had two opportunities to serve for the match after a Navy attack error. Another attack error by the Mids closed out the contest.

Navy totaled more kills than American did, 41-40, but had twice as many attack errors, 24-11. This was despite the Eagles holding only a 9-7 advantage in blocks over the Mids.

"You have to play a very clean match against American," said Bock. "They forced us into a number of errors, but we had to play that aggressively when the opportunity arose. Teams that sit back and wait against American will not have success."

Gaby Smith (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) closed out her collegiate career with a Navy-high 13 kills, with Seelbach recording 10 kills and hitting .364. Patriot League Setter of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year Patricia Mattingly (So., New Albany, Ind.) tallied 25 assists and 10 digs, and Patriot League Libero of the Year Sydney Shearn (So., Louisville, Ky.) snared 18 digs.

"I've been coaching a long time," said Bock, "and Gaby Smith is one of the best players I have coached based upon what she gets out of herself. A 5-7 outside hitter shouldn't have 13 kills against this American team, but her performance today was emblematic of her career.

"This team has made great strides from a year ago (when it was 9-20). You can trace that upward trajectory to the players, especially our three players who played their final match today, Smith, McCool and Allison Latham (Sr., Merrimack, N.H.). It is now up to those of us returning to stand on their shoulders and move this program even more forward."