WEST POINT, N.Y. –– One of the team's lowest hitting percentages of the season resulted in the Navy volleyball team dropping a four-set match to Army Friday night at Gillis Field House in West Point.  The Mids (18-8, 10-3), who have lost two of their last three matches and in the midst of playing their last five matches of the year on the road, fell to the Black Knights (12-14, 7-6), who have won five of their last six matches, 25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19.
 
Navy received a little help in its quest for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs as American defeated Colgate Friday night, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22.  That kept the Mids two wins in front of the Raiders with three matches remaining in the regular season.  Navy will play Saturday afternoon at Colgate.  The Mids defeated the Raiders in three sets in the first meeting of the season, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18.
 
Neither offense played well Friday night as Navy registered 41 kills, 34 attack errors and a .042 hitting percentage and Army tallied 43 kills, 28 attack errors and hit just .098.  The Black Knights won the match with their blocking as they posted 18 blocks to just 11 for the Mids.
 
"Army played inspired volleyball in all facets of the game," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "They did a great job of never allowing us to get comfortable. 
 
"Winning in the road isn't easy, and I am happy with are learning some lessons about what it takes to win away from Wesley Brown, which we will need to do in the playoffs."
 
The teams went point-for-point with each other in set one as neither held a lead of more than two points until the final score of the frame.  The score was tied at 19-19, 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22 before Army posted back-to-back kills followed by a block to win the set.
 
After the close first set, Army turned a slim 9-7 lead in set two into cushions of 13-7 and 18-10 to take the 2-0 advantage.
 
Navy responded in set three and took leads of 8-4 and 14-7 only to see Army slice the margin down to one point at 14-13.  The Mids maintained a slim lead and were able to extend it out to four points at 20-16.  That was enough for Navy to send the match to a fourth set.
 
Army took a 10-3 in set four to place Navy in a deep hole it could not climb out of.
 
Maddi Sgattoni (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) led Navy's offense with nine kills, with both Olivia Rozmus (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) and Kelsey Kingsland (Sr., Blackwell, Mo.) each posting eight kills.  Four Mids snared at least 10 digs, with Sydney Shearn (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) leading the way with 18, two more than both Patricia Mattingly (Sr., New Albany, Ind.) and Emily Solis (Jr., Leesburg, Va.) grabbed.  Katie Patrick (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) led the blockers with six blocks.
 
Patriot League Standings (Remaining Schedule; Top 4 make the playoffs)
13-0 American (at Holy Cross, vs. Lehigh, at Army)
10-3 Navy (at Colgate, at Lafayette, at Holy Cross)
8-5 Colgate (vs. Navy, at Lehigh, vs. Loyola)
7-6 Loyola (at Army, at Bucknell, at Colgate)
7-6 Army (vs. Loyola, at Bucknell, vs. American)
7-6 Lehigh (at Lafayette, at American, vs. Colgate)
5-8 Holy Cross (vs. American, vs. Navy, vs. Lafayette)
1-12 Bucknell (at Lafayette, vs. Army, vs. Loyola)
0-12 Lafayette (vs. Bucknell, vs. Lehigh, vs. Navy, at Holy Cross)