ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The Navy volleyball team will open the second half of the Patriot League season with a pair of matches at home this weekend.  The Mids (15-6, 7-1) will face Lehigh (16-4, 5-3) Friday at 7 p.m. and Bucknell (6-13, 1-7) –– which will not play a match Friday –– Saturday at noon.  Both matches will be played in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.

Multimedia Offerings
Friday, 7 p.m. vs. Lehigh – Free Live Video – Free Live Statistics
Saturday, noon vs. Bucknell – Free Live Statistics

Shuttle Bus
All fans without a Dept. of Defense ID card must park outside of the USNA gates and either walk through the gate one visitors center or else ride the free shuttle bus to and from the match.  All fans ages 18 and older must have a photo ID with them and those ages 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

The shuttle bus locations for the matches are:
Friday vs. Lehigh – 6 p.m. start - The west (blue) parking lot at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium by the Blue Angel jet (550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis, Md., 21401)
Saturday vs. Bucknell – 11 a.m. start – The parking lot at the Navy Exchange (639 Kinkaid Rd., Annapolis, Md., 21402)

Senior Night
Navy will recognize its six-member Class of 2019 prior to the start of Friday's match against Lehigh.  The pre-match ceremony will begin at 6:50 p.m..

Patriot League Update
The Patriot League has reached the midpoint of its schedule.  All teams have played eight league matches and this weekend starts the second half with eight more matches to go for each until the end of the regular season.  The top-four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the Patriot League Tournament, which will be hosted by the regular season champion.

Navy enters the second half of the campaign in second place.  The Mids sit one win behind first-place American and two in front of third-place teams Lehigh and Loyola (the Mountain Hawks officially sit in third place due to their victory over the Greyhounds in the first meeting of the teams).

Tiebreakers between teams will be broken as follows:
1 - Head-to-head match results.  If still tied, then,
2 - Head-to-head set differential.  If still tied, then,
3 - Head-to-head point differential.

Navy Update
The Mids closed the first half of the league season with a 25-10, 26-24, 25-22 victory over Holy Cross Saturday night.  Navy was led offensively by Maddi Sgattoni (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) with 11 kills and by fellow outside hitter Kelsey Kingsland (Sr., Blackwell, Mo.) with 10 kills.  Defensively, Sydney Shearn (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) grabbed 15 digs.

"We have played excellent 'team defense,'" said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "Our servers, blockers and defense are all working very cohesively with each other.  We will look to improve our attacking efficiency in transition.  It's critical that we value every possession and work to convert our defense into points on the board."

Navy def. Lehigh, 3-2 (25-13, 22-25, 18-25, 25-14, 15-12) / Sept. 22, Bethlehem, Pa.
The Mids rallied from a 2-1 deficit in sets to defeat the Mountain Hawks in the first meeting of the season.  It was the second-straight match in the series and the third in a four-match span that went to five sets.

Navy totaled 63 kills to 45 for Lehigh, and the Mids also held statistical leads over the Mountain Hawks in hitting percentage (.161-.076), digs (104-85) and blocks (15-10).  Sgattoni paced all players in the match with 22 kills and added 20 digs.  Shearn led the Navy passers with 33 digs and Katie Patrick (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) totaled 10 blocks.  Lehigh was led on offense by Lauren Bright's 12 kills and by Emily Poole's 11 kills to go along with a .435 attack percentage.  Defensively, Emily Develle posted 27 digs and Bright contributed nine blocks.

"I don't think our first meeting with Lehigh was a great match for either team," said Labrador.  "Both teams made uncharacteristic errors and struggled to find good connections.  I'm sure Lehigh will be playing a much sharper brand of volleyball and we will need to match the strides they have made in the last few weeks."

Navy def. Bucknell, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-14) / Sept. 21, Lewisburg, Pa.
The Mids defeated the Bison in four sets in a match that served as the league opener for both teams.

Navy limited the Bison to a hitting percentage of below .100 in three of the four sets and to an overall mark of .091 while the Mids themselves hit .157.  Navy registered 13 more kills than Bucknell did, but the Bison ended the match with one fewer attack error than the Mids had (28-27).  Bucknell led Navy in digs (68-64) and the Mids held a 13-9 advantage over the Bison in blocks.

Sgattoni posted 21 kills to lead the Navy offense and Emily Solis (Jr., Leesburg, Va.) snared a match-high 22 digs.  On the other side of the net, Mimi Richards tallied team highs in both kills (14) and blocks (five) and Sophie Bullard's 15 digs made her one of four Bison to grab at least 10 in the match.

"Bucknell plays defense with a ton of heart," said Labrador.  "They really frustrate hitters.  We will need to maintain our composure and expect long rallies."

Patriot League Standings (Top 4 make the playoffs, 16-match season)
8-0  American
7-1  Navy
5-3  Lehigh
5-3 Loyola
4-4  Colgate
3-4  Army
3-5  Holy Cross
1-7  Bucknell
0-8  Lafayette

Friday, Oct. 19 –– Army at Holy Cross, Lafayette at Loyola
Saturday, Oct. 20 –– Lafayette at American, Lehigh at Loyola, Army at Colgate
Sunday, Oct. 21 –– Bucknell at American, Holy Cross at Colgate