ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The ability for the Navy volleyball team to manufacture points at key moments helped it slow down a hot-hitting Loyola squad in a four-set victory (25-15, 17-25, 25-22, 25-23) by the Mids (11-5, 3-0 Patriot League) over the Greyhounds (6-10, 1-2), Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.
 
"Credit Loyola for really coming to play tonight," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "They were aggressive from the very start and maintained a high-powered offense all night."
 
Included among the numerous notable performances by the Mids in the match was Sydney Shearn (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) becoming Navy's all-time career digs record holder and Maddi Sgattoni (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) registering at least 20 kills for the third match in a row.
 
Navy trailed Loyola 7-6 in the first set when Patricia Mattingly (Sr., New Albany, Ind.) stepped to the service line.  Her last effort came with the Mids in front 15-7.  Mattingly dropped in a pair of aces during that 9-0 spurt and her serve led to the Mids scoring several other points during that stretch.
 
Navy held a .333-.133 advantage in hitting percentage in winning the opening set, but that would be the last frame in which the Mids outhit the Greyhounds.
 
Loyola held a slim 8-7 lead in set two, but slowly edged its way out to a 15-9 cushion.  Navy could only draw as close as four points (16-12) during remainder of the set.  The Greyhounds hit .405 in set to the .235 registered by the Mids, which was aided by an 18-11 advantage in kills for the visitors. 
 
Navy took several three-point leads in the third set only to see Loyola counter each with a run of its own.  The Mids led the Greyhounds 12-9, 17-14 and 18-15, but the score was eventually tied at 18-18.  Navy took leads of 21-18 and 22-19 before Loyola closed to within 22-21, which led to a timeout by Labrador.
 
The teams traded sideouts to make the score 23-22, then Sgattoni dropped in her eighth kill of the set to take the Mids to set point with a 24-22 lead.  Sgattoni promptly went back to the service line and again delivered, this time with an ace, to take the Mids to the fourth set with a 2-1 lead. 
 
Navy won the third set despite being outhit .231-.143.  The Mids would again be outhit in set four, .310-.270, but also managed to find a way to win again.
 
Loyola very quickly took leads of 4-0, 5-1, 10-5 and 16-11 in the fourth set.  Navy clawed back and eventually knotted the score at 18-18.  After sideouts by each team made the score 19-19, Loyola's Ann Ernst recorded a hitting error to give Navy its first lead of the set at 20-19. 
 
That advantage was short lived as the Greyhounds notched the next three points to take a 22-20 lead.  The margin was cut in half when Mattingly fed Katie Patrick (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) for a kill, then a kill by Sgattoni on a Loyola overpass was followed by another kill by Sgattoni gave the Mids a 23-22 lead.
 
Following a Loyola timeout, Ernst posted her 20^th kill –– against just three attack errors –– of the night to tie the stanza at 23-23.  Sgattoni recorded her ninth kill of the set, her 17^th since the start of the third set and her 21^st of the evening on the next point to take the Mids to match point with a 24-23 lead.  The Mids would secure the match when an attempt by Loyola's Mackenzie Fedota went long.
 
Loyola's hitting advantage at the end of the night was .257-.242, but it was .314-.212 in the last three sets.  Navy did hold a slim 57-55 lead in kills in the match, but the teams were even in kills over the last three sets (44).  Additionally, Navy had 20 of its 21 attack errors in the last three sets while Loyola had just 13 attack errors in sets two through four and 18 during the nearly two-hour match.
 
Helping the Mids to the victory was an 8-3 edge in aces.  That negated the 10-7 advantage Loyola had in blocks.
 
"I think the match was won from the service line," said Labrador.  "We scored some opportune points at the right times."
 
Sgattoni recorded at least 20 kills for the third-straight match (21 last Friday at Bucknell, 22 Saturday at Lehigh) after having never before posting 20 kills in match.  She also notched three aces and grabbed 10 digs this evening.
 
"Maddi had another monster night, doing it all for us," said Labrador.
 
Patrick tallied 11 kills and four blocks in the middle and Sgattoni's fellow outside hitter Kelsey Kingsland (Sr., Blackwell, Mo.) registered 10 kills.  Additionally, Mattingly recorded 48 assists, 14 digs and two aces, Darby Minton (Sr., Chino Hills, Calif.) had nine digs and Shearn totaled 13 digs and five assists.
 
Shearn broke Navy's career record of 1,424 digs held by Jessie Sims (2005-08) with her fifth dig of the night, which came on the first point of the second set.  She has now posted 1,433 career digs.  To add a little more perspective, Shearn, Sims, Holly Berger (1,405; 2008-11) and Rachel Shropa (1,270; 1996-99) are the only Navy players since statistics became available starting with the 1991 season to have attained 1,000 career digs.
 
"It is pretty exciting," said Shearn of setting the record and getting the victory.  "We have worked really hard the last three years to get to this point.  It shows the effort I and my classmates, Trish, Katie, Kelsey, Darby, Taylor Holland (Sr., Auburn, Ala.) and Ally Spencer, have put in.  It has been really great.  It makes us happy to see all of our goals coming true this year."
 
"Sydney has been our rock in the back row," said Labrador.  "She's a steady, level-headed passer who has a nose for the ball.  I'm happy for her and this incredible accomplishment."
 
Ernst had seven kills and one attack error in the second set and six kills without an attack error in the third set on her way to 20 kills and a .395 attack percentage.  Teammate Abby Hamilton finished the night with 15 kills and Cat Vaccaro had 11 kills with a .476 attack percentage.
 
Navy will play Sunday at American.  Links to the free live video stream and live statistics from the 2 p.m. match can be found at NavySports.com.