ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The Navy volleyball team will begin its quest for a second Patriot League Tournament title in a row Tuesday night when the Mids (16-11, 11-5) play host to Lehigh (14-16, 7-9) at 7 p.m. in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.  The match between the fourth-seeded Mids and the fifth-seeded Mountain Hawks serves a quarterfinal round match in the six-team tournament.

Tournament Field
In addition to the Navy-Lehigh tilt, No. 3 Army also is playing host to No. 6 Loyola Tuesday night.  (Navy and Army tied for third place in the final standings, but the Black Knights earned the tiebreaker over the Mids thanks to a 201-198 scoring advantage in the two head-to-head matches.)  The two quarterfinal round winners will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at top-seeded American.  The Eagles and the event's No. 2 seed Colgate have byes directly into the semifinals.  

The Navy-Lehigh winner will face American and the Army-Loyola victor will play Colgate.  The championship match of the tournament will be held Sunday at American.

"There is no question that the level of the Patriot League has elevated significantly this year," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "Every team is well coached, physical, and battles for every point."

Navy Update
The Mids ended the regular season with a five-set victory over Lafayette Sunday afternoon.  Navy, which rested more than half of its starting lineup in the match, recorded a 25-15, 20-25, 27-25, 21-25, 17-15 win over the Leopards.  Maddi Sgattoni (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) knocked down 24 kills in the match to lead all players.  

Sunday's win gave the Mids a 7-2 record in their last nine matches.  The only two defeats for Navy during this span were losses to American and Colgate.

Sgattoni was Navy's lone representative on one of the all-league teams.  She garnered second-team all-league honors this season after earning a first-team nod in 2018.

Lehigh Update
Lehigh saw its five-match losing streak come to an end Sunday when it won a four-set match at Holy Cross.  The five losses during its streak were to each of the five other league tournament teams.

Lehigh's Emily Poole and Hannah Wright each earned second-team all-league laurels this season.  The duo also received the same accolade in 2018.

"Lehigh plays 'big ball' with outside hitters who both jump very well and hit with power, alongside middles who are both seasoned, experienced players," said Labrador.  "We will need to match their athletic play and capitalize on the home crowd environment."

Navy vs. Lehigh in 2019
Navy recorded a pair of victories over Lehigh during the regular season.  

The Mids played one of their most complete matches of the league campaign when they posted a 25-18, 25-17, 25-17 win over the Mountain Hawks on Oct. 5 in Annapolis.  Navy registered 47 kills and a .354 attack percentage and limited Lehigh to 28 kills and a .098 hitting performance.  The Mids also held statistical advantages in aces (6-0), digs (26-23) and blocks (7-3).  Individually, Amanda Montag (Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) led all players with 16 kills and Sgattoni added 11 kills.  Montag also hit .407 and Sgattoni hit .310 while dropping in three aces.  Sabrina Lancaster led Lehigh with 10 kills.

Navy then defeated Lehigh, 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 25-21, Nov. 1 in Bethlehem, Pa.  The Mids again held a lead over the Mountain Hawks in kills, 59-45, but Navy also registered 25 attack errors to just 17 for Lehigh.  Success from the serving line also went to Navy has it held a 9-4 advantage in aces.  Sgattoni paced all players with 19 kills and also added a .381 hitting night.  Defensively, Emily Solis (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) snared 26 digs.  Wright posted 14 kills and a .306 attack percentage for Lehigh.

Navy in the Patriot League Tournament
This is the first time since 1995 in which the Patriot League Tournament field is comprised of more than four teams.  All teams in the league participated in the event from its founding in 1990 through 1995.  Only the top-four teams in the final regular season standings advanced to the tournament from 1996 through 2018.

Navy is making its fourth appearance in the tournament in as many years and is in the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons.  The Mids entered the 2018 event as the No. 2 seed and left it as the winners of the program's first tournament title in school history.  Navy reached the championship match of the 1996, 1999, 2017 and 2018 tournaments and has compiled an overall record of 14-18 in its 16 prior appearances.

Navy has been the No. 3 seed on two prior occasions, finishing in third place in 1991 and losing in the semifinals of the 2014 tournament.

That 2014 appearance was the last time the Mids met Lehigh in the tournament.  The teams have squared off in six prior tournaments, with the Mountain Hawks holding a 4-2 advantage in those matches.

This is the third time Navy is playing host to a tournament match.  The entire 1994 tournament was played in Annapolis and the Mids earned the right to play host to the 1999 semifinals and final as the top-seeded team in the league.  Navy posted a 1-2 record as the No. 4 seed in the 1994 tournament and was 1-1 as the No. 1 seed in the 1999 event.