ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– A season-high 14 aces helped the Navy volleyball team to a four-set victory over Bucknell, Tuesday night at Davis Gym in Lewisburg, Pa.  The Mids (15-10, 10-4 Patriot League) defeated the Bison (14-13, 3-12), 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, in what was the third match in four days for Navy.
 
"We had another solid night from the service line," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "All six of our servers were finding a clean, fast float on the ball."
 
The first two sets were polar opposites of one another as the offenses dominated set one and the defenses dictated play in set two.
 
The teams played point-for-point with each other in the early part of the opening set.  Bucknell held a slim 11-10 lead before Navy took a 14-13 lead.  The teams were tied at 16-16 when a 5-0 Navy run gave it the breathing room it needed to win the stanza.
 
The Mids recorded 16 kills and just one attack error on 31 attempts for a .484 percentage in the first set.  On the other side of the net, the Bison hit a healthy .312 on 14 kills with four errors on 32 attempts.
 
Navy slowly edged its way out to a 10-5 lead in the second set on its way to building a 17-10 cushion.  Bucknell made a slight run, but could not make too much of a dent into the margin.
 
Navy hit .179 in the second set and limited Bucknell to a .081 hitting mark.
 
The third set turned into a sideout battle between the teams.  The score was tied 19 times and the lead changed hands on five occasions.  The Bison used a 3-0 run to take a 22-19 lead, but the Mids rallied and tied the score at 23-23.  Back-to-back kills by Bucknell extended the match to a fourth set.
 
Navy hit a healthy .287 in the third set, but allowed Bucknell to hit .485.
 
Navy quickly took a 7-1 lead at the start of the fourth set.  The Mids soon built leads of 14-5 and 18-9.  The Bison crept back into the frame and serve trailing 23-20.  A Bucknell attack error followed by a block from the Navy tandem of Sofia Hruby (Sr., Austin, Texas) and Avery Stowell (So., Yorba Linda, Calif.) concluded the match.
 
Navy's 14 aces tonight is tied for the third-most by the program in a league match in school history.  Those 14 aces came against just seven service errors.  Additionally, Bucknell recorded just three service aces and also had seven service errors. 
 
Tonight's 14 aces came two days after the Mids registered 11 aces in a four-set win over Loyola.
 
Blocking played a key role in the outcome of the match as the Mids held a 7.0-3.5 advantage at the net.  Navy also totaled 60 kills and a .310 attack percentage to better the 51 kills and .256 attack percentage by Bucknell. 
 
Maddi Sgattoni (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) registered her second double-double in as many matches with 12 kills and an equal number of digs.  Posting the first double-double of her career was Stowell with 14 kills and 10 digs.  Matching a career best for kills was Hruby with 10.  Setter Paige Miles (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) not only a nice job of running the offense with 43 assists, she also contributed six kills herself and grabbed a career-high 16 digs.
 
"Paige found a good rhythm with our hitters," said Labrador, "particularly with our middle hitters. She also added her own offense, too.  She does a great job of keeping defenses off balance.
 
"Sofia used a great mix to score points tonight."
 
Seven Mids dropped in at least one ace.  Stowell and Natalie LaPlaca (Sr., Owings, Md.) each had three, while Sgattoni, Miles and Amanda Montag (Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) each had two. 
 
LaPlaca added 11 digs and the trio of Stowell, Hruby and Melissa Carter (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) each had three blocks.
 
Navy will close the regular season with matches Friday against Colgate and Sunday against Lafayette.  Both matches will be played in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.  The Mids also will be home on Nov. 19 in the quarterfinal round of the league tournament.