Final Stats

MUNCIE, Ind. â€"â€" In a match where late rallies and lead changes were the norm, the Navy (6-1) volleyball team posted a four-set victory over Bradley (2-4) Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind. The Mids came away with a 30-28, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20 victory over the Braves in the final match of the Ball State Tournament for both teams.

The score was tied 40 times and the lead changed hands on 18 occasions in the two and one-quarter hour long contest.

"What a slugfest," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "The rallies were really long the entire match.

"This was a really good weekend for us (which included a 3-0 loss to Ball State and a 3-0 win over Fort Wayne). We weren't real happy with the way the trip started, but were pleased with how it ended. Bradley lost in four to Ball State yesterday, so they are a pretty good team. Our team figured a lot of things out from the start to the finish. A lot of positives come out of this trip."

The opening set included 19 ties and eight lead changes alone. The largest lead for either team in the stanza was three points, and that was when the Braves held 13-10 and 14-11 advantages. Bradley was the first team to reach 20 points, but Navy scored the next two points to take a 21-20 lead. After a pair of sideouts made the score 22-21 in favor of the Mids, Sarena Seelbach (S., Chapel Hill, N.C.) posted a kill to give Navy a 23-21 lead and result in Bradley calling timeout. Two more sideouts followed the stoppage, which made the score 24-22 Navy.

A Bradley kill and a Navy attack error tied the score at 24. A block by the Navy tandem of Seelbach and Maggie Phillips (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) began a run of sideouts where the Mids had set points at 25-24, 26-25, 27-26, 28-27 and 29-28. Finally, on Navy's seventh set-point opportunity, the Mids were able to convert thanks to a Bradley attack error.

"The first set became a real sideout battle," said Bock, as Navy was 20-28 (71%) in sideouts and Bradley was 20-30 (66%).

Bradley showed no signs of disappointment from the loss as it raced out to a 9-2 lead at the start of the second set. Navy closed to within one point at 12-11, but soon found itself down 18-12. The Mids scored the ensuing eight points to take their first lead of the frame at 20-18, but that was short lived as the Braves ran off the next five points to take a 23-20 lead. A kill by Tara Dotzauer (Sr., Raleigh, N.C.) made the score 23-21, but that was followed by a Navy attack error and a Bradley kill to close out the set for the Braves.

The teams were within one point of each other for most of the first part of the third set. A 4-0 run by Navy allowed it to take a 19-14 lead, and the Mids held a cushion of at least two points the remainder of the way to take the 2-1 lead in sets.

The fourth set was very similar to the third in that the teams were pretty close to one another for a good portion of the set. A 3-0 run by the Mids gave them a 18-14 lead, which was followed by the Braves scoring four of the next five points to close to within 19-18. Dotzauer and Phillips would record consecutive kills to give the Mids a three-point lead. A Bradley attack error gave the Mids a 23-19 lead, which soon became 24-19 on an ace by Phillips. Bradley's Erica Haslag posted her 28th kill of the match to extend play, but a kill by Navy's Maddi Sgattoni finished out the contest.

"We have a well-conditioned team," said Bock. "We thought at a couple of times that might played a factor in plays and sets. We did not have a real set lineup out there, but the players we put into the match were very effective for us. Olivia Kluger (Sr., Carmel, Ind.), Darby Minton (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Melissa Carter (So., Seven Hills, Pa.) all contributed in various ways that may not show up in the box score."

Navy won despite trailing Ball State in kills (68-62), hitting percentage (.225-.215), digs (88-83) and blocks (10-4). The Mids did drop in five aces to two for the Braves, while Bradley committed 26 attack errors to 21 by Navy.

Dotzauer was named to the all-tournament team after posting 19 kills â€"â€" her career high is 20, and that was in a five-set match â€"â€" and hitting .390 this afternoon. She led Navy with 32 kills in the three matches.

"Tara was our go-to player this weekend," said Bock. "She led us in kills, hit .316 and had six blocks on the trip."

Also named to the all-tournament team was Emily Solis (So., Leesburg, Va.). The libero grabbed 27 digs today against the Braves after totaling 25 in Navy's two matches Friday.

"Emily made the first starts of her career for us this weekend," said Bock. "She averaged over six digs a set, which is a lot. She served tough, passed well and dug lights out."

Additionally for the Mids, Phillips had 11 kills, Sgattoni had 13 kills, Minton had 10 digs and Patricia Mattingly (Jr., New Albany, Ind.) had 48 assists and 12 digs.

"Maggie was our door slammer," said Bock. "She was most effective in set four with her kills, passes and serves."

Haslag totaled 28 kills, a .323 hitting percentage and 24 digs for Bradley.

"Haslag is as good of a player as we will see this year," said Bock. "We kept trying to dial the lineup a certain way to get away from her, but we kept missing."

Navy has posted a record of 6-1 to start this season after beginning the 2016 campaign with a 7-1 record.

"I couldn't be more pleased through two weeks than I am," said Bock. "We now incrementally go after what every other team is doing, and that is getting a real feel for the great potential of this team. There is a team here; that was made clear this weekend. They work hard, win long rallies, and limit mistakes. They seem to be getting a sense of what everything is all about."

Navy will continue its non-league slate next weekend with a trio of matches in Philadelphia. The Mids will play Friday La Salle before facing both Robert Morris and Penn Friday at Penn.