Click on the above photo to watch highlights from the match

ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Team captain Emily Solis (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) grabbed 16 digs and anchored a strong effort by the passers on the Navy (10-9, 5-3 Patriot League) volleyball team during a 25-15, 25-15, 25-23 victory by the Mids over Holy Cross (3-20, 0-9) Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.
 
"Both teams played defense with a ton of heart tonight," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.
 
The Mids separated from the Crusaders early in the opening set.  Navy held a 6-4 lead before building advantages of 10-4, 15-7 and 21-10. 
 
Set number two was closer as the score was tied at 9-9 before another 4-0 run gave Navy a 13-9 lead.  The cushion grew to 16-10 and never dipped below five points over the remainder of the set.
 
The Mids held the Crusaders to six kills and forced them into five attack errors (.029) in winning the first frame.  Navy's defense was nearly as effective in set two as Holy Cross tallied nine kills and eight attack errors (.031).  Conversely, the Mids posted a combined 26 kills against 10 errors (.300) over the course of the first two stanzas.
 
Navy tried to build some breathing room in the third set, but Holy Cross kept fighting back.  The Mids jumped out to leads of 9-4, 12-6 and 17-10 only to see the Crusaders tie the score at 18-18.  Sofia Hruby (Sr., Austin, Texas) first broke the tie with a kill, then teamed with Avery Stowell (So., Yorba Linda, Calif.) for a block to give the Mids a 20-18 lead.  After the teams exchanged points (21-19), another kill by Stowell pushed the advantage out to 22-19.  Holy Cross answered with a kill (22-20), then back-to-back kills by Stowell took Navy to match point with a 24-20 cushion.  A kill followed by a solo block from Regan Wright shaved off half of that margin, then another kill by Wright closed the gap down to 24-23.  Navy would close the 80-minute match with a kill from Maddi Sgattoni (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.).
 
Navy registered 13 kills in each of the three sets and Holy Cross accounted for 12 of its 27 kills in the final frame.  The Mids outhit the Crusaders in the match, .212-.078.  Navy also held statistical leads in aces (7-4) and digs (47-38).
 
Solis snared seven of her 16 digs in the third set.  Her dig tally fell one shy of tying her career high for a match lasting three sets.
 
"I think Emily had a tremendous match tonight," said Labrador.  "Her dig total alone tells only part of the story.  She covered our hitters, anchored the serve receive and really set a relentless tone for the rest of the team to follow."
 
Sgattoni just missed a double-double with 10 kills and nine digs and Stowell tallied 10 kills –– five in set three –– and a .421 attack percentage.  Additionally, Natalie LaPlaca (Sr., Owings, Md.) accounted for three of Navy's seven aces.
 
"Avery took some clutch swings when we needed her to finish a point," said Labrador.
 
Navy will play host to Army Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.  Admission is free for the match.  Saturday's shuttle will begin from and return to the parking lot located just before the NEX Gas Station (247 Kinkaid Road, Annapolis, MD 21402) and right across the street from the Navy Lodge (347 Kinkaid Road) by Naval Support Activity Annapolis.  The shuttle will start at 7 p.m.