Final Stats

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. â€"â€" The Navy volleyball team capped its short stay in Princess Anne, Md., Saturday by winning a pair of matches. The Mids improved to 5-1 on the young season by defeating both Rider and Norfolk State in three sets.

Navy did not drop a set in its three matches at the UMES Classic, with those three matches being completed in a span of 23 hours.

"This was a good day and tournament for us," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "It was important for this team to win its two matches today and come away with a tournament title. Doing so is an important event for this program."

Navy's day began with its 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 victory over Rider (2-4). The Mids opened the match by jumping out to leads of 6-0 and 13-2 at the start of the first set. The Broncs were able to close to as few as four points at 17-13, 18-14 and 19-15, but back-to-back Navy kills gave just enough of a cushion for it to hang on.

The start of the second set was the opposite of the first as Rider scored the opening five points of the frame. Navy tied the set at 10-10 only to fall behind again by a small margin. Rider held a 15-13 lead when a 7-0 Navy spurt allowed it to build a 20-15 advantage. Back-to-back blocks by the Mids, a kill by Gaby Smith (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and a Rider attack error gave Navy a 17-15 lead. Smith notched another kill, then setter Patrica Mattingly (So., New Albany, Ind.) posted a kill of her own to make the score 19-15. Mattingly then tallied another kill to close out the run and give the Mids a lead they would not relinquish.

Rider again started the third set off well by scoring the opening four points on its way to taking a 10-4 lead. The Mids rallied with a 7-0 run of their own to take their first lead of the set at 11-10. The score would be tied at 11, 13 and 15, with the latter tie ending up being the last one of the match. Navy rattled off the next three points on a Rider service error, a kill by Allison Latham (Sr., Merrimack, N.H.) and a kill by Olivia Rozmus (Fr., Chicago, Ill.) to take an 18-15 lead. The lead would grow to four points at 21-17 before shrinking down to just one point at 23-22. A kill by Maggie Phillips (Jr., Leesburg, Va.) took the Mids to match point, which they converted on a service ace from Sydney Shearn (So., Louisville, Ky.).

"Rider played us very tough," said Bock. "We really had to work out there with a lot of long rallies. They were hard to score against. Our ball control and setting were very good."

Navy outhit Rider, .234-.141, thanks to the Mids snaring 50 digs to just 39 for the Broncs. Navy also had double the number of service aces Rider did, 6-3.

Smith just missed a double-double as she ended the match with 11 kills and nine digs. She was one of five Mids to record at least five kills, with both Katie Patrick (So., Aurora, Colo.) and Dorothy Murray (Jr., Harbor City, Calif.) ending the contest with seven. Mattingly did post a double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs, while both Shearn and Darby Minton (So., Chino Hills, Calif.) each grabbed eight digs and Olivia Kluger (Jr., Carmel, Ind.) added seven.

"It was good to see Gaby play well for a second straight night," said Bock. "When we start league play, we are going to need her to play well on consecutive days as she did this weekend."

A little more than two hours after completing their match against Rider, the Mids found themselves back on the court against a Norfolk State team that had not played since its second match on Friday ended, which was prior to the start of Navy's first match of the weekend 24 hours earlier. Navy's entire bench took to the floor to help the Mids secure a 25-15, 25-20, 27-25 victory over the Spartans (1-6).

The opening set was tied at 5-5 when Navy scored 12 of the next 15 points to break the frame open with a 17-8 lead.

The Mids then took an early 4-0 lead in the second set, but could never fully separate from the Spartans. The score was knotted at 14 when a 4-0 run by Navy gave it a little breathing room. Norfolk State was able to slice the margin down to two points at 21-19, but back-to-back attack errors by the Spartans and a kill from Tara Dotzauer (Jr., Raleigh, N.C.) took the Mids to set point with a 24-19 lead.

Norfolk State would be the team to gain an early upper hand in the third set. The Spartans jumped out to an 8-3 lead and they nursed a slim cushion until the Mids tied things up at 14. A short while later, a quick 3-0 run by Navy â€"â€" the last two points coming on kills from Dotzauer â€"â€" gave it a 20-18 lead, and that margin soon became 22-20. Norfolk State answered with a 3-0 run of its own to regain the lead at 23-22. An attack error by the Spartans tied the score, but a kill by Sydney Dailey gave them set point with a 24-23 lead. Kluger posted a kill to tie the score, then she knocked down another kill to give Navy a 25-24 lead. A Navy service error made the score 25-25, but Sarena Seelbach (Fr., Chapel Hill, N.C.) gave Navy another serve to win the match with a kill, and this time the Mids converted on a Dotzauer kill.

"We were really tired after the Rider match," said Bock. "That one took a lot out of us. We needed everybody in the Norfolk State match. It was great to see us close it out in three sets. A lot of the people who were on the floor toward the end of each set did not play much against Rider.

"Winning that match may have been the most important match of the weekend. Our new players were able to get some valuable playing time in meaningful situations, and our veteran players kept things calm, cool and collected. We got a lot better with winning the match."

Passing again helped the Navy offense and defense in the match. The Mids totaled 49 digs to 35 for the Spartans, which allowed Navy to outhit Norfolk State, .333-.077, and total 17 more kills (46-29).

Murray capped a strong weekend by totaling nine kills and no attack errors on 12 swings (.750) to lead the Navy offense. Also having productive hitting numbers were Dotzauer with seven kills and a .400 attack percentage, and Shelby McCool (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) with six kills on 16 swings. Navy's troika of setters â€"â€" Mattingly, Ally Spencer (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) and Paige Miles (Fr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) â€"â€" totaled 33 assists and helped five Mids record at least four kills.

Defensively, Shearn led all players in the match with 25 digs, while McCool totaled nine digs and shred the team lead with two blocks.

The Mids will next travel to Buies Creek, N.C., for a trio of matches at the Campbell Invite. Navy will South Carolina State and Campbell on Sept. 9 and East Carolina on Sept. 10.