Click the above photo to watch a video feature story on Paige Miles.  She discusses her summer trip to India and the upcoming season.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The Navy volleyball team will open its 2019 season this weekend when the Mids made the short drive to Arlington, Va., to take part in the Service Academy Challenge at The Pentagon.  The Mids will face tournament-host Air Force Friday at 10 a.m., Gonzaga Friday at 7 p.m. and Connecticut Saturday at 10 a.m.

The tournament is closed to the general public and there will not be either live statistics or live video from the matches.

About Navy
Navy closed out its training camp with a scrimmage against Towson last week in Annapolis.  With the loss of three starters plus the libero from a year ago, it allowed several of the returning players from last season's squad to step onto the court for extensive playing time against another team for the first time.  Helping to solidify the lineup were returning starters Sarena Seelbach (Sr., Chapel Hill, N.C.), Maddi Sgattoni (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Emily Solis (Sr., Leesburg, Va.), as well as senior setter Paige Miles (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Avery Stowell (So., Yorba Linda, Calif.), who played in all 29 matches in 2018.

"We learned quite a bit from our scrimmage against Towson," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "It was really helpful to play against an elite level lefty attacker, particularly because we don't have a lefty hitter on our roster.  Our passers were tested by some aggressive serving which allowed Towson to get into a solid blocking structure.  Practices this week have had great purpose and focus.

"The field this weekend is an excellent, well-coached set of teams.  Each team has a big-time retuning outside hitter but also a some new faces in the lineup.  There are quite a few similarities between them, although playing well on the first weekend of the season typically boils down to which team can limit the runs of errors and can make plays that capture and keep momentum in each set."

2019 Media Guide
A PDF of the 2019 Navy volleyball media guide can be accessed by clicking HERE.

About Air Force
The Falcons posted a 17-15 record a year ago and placed ninth in the Mountain West Conference with a 7-11 record.  Air Force was predicted to again finish in ninth place in the conference this season.

Air Force holds a 12-3 advantage in the all-time series with Navy.  The teams met last season in Colorado Springs, Colo.  The Falcons won the first two sets by scores of 25-21, 25-21, but the Mids claimed the remaining three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 15-7 to rally for the victory.  It was the second year in a row in which the teams faced each other.  Navy also won in four sets in Annapolis in 2017.

The Mids previously took part in the Air Force-hosted tournament at The Pentagon in 2012.  In a reversal from last year's meeting, Air Force rallied from a 0-2 deficit in sets to defeat the Mids seven years ago.  Navy also lost in four sets to Denver and defeated The Citadel in four sets to round out its slate of matches at the event.

Air Force is the only member of the Mountain West Conference Navy has played.  The Falcons have posted a 27-11 record against teams from the Patriot League.  That overall mark includes a 10-7 record in matches played against Army.

About Gonzaga
The Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 11-18 last season and tied for sixth place in the West Coast Conference with an 8-10 mark.  The Zags were tabbed to finish in eighth place in this season's conference preseason poll.

Friday's match will not only be the first in the series between the teams, it also will be the first for Navy against a West Coast Conference school.  The lone Patriot League opponent Gonzaga has faced is American.  The Eagles defeated the Bulldogs in that 2001 contest.

About Connecticut
Connecticut ended the 2018 season with an overall record of 15-16 and placed eighth in the American Athletic Conference with a record of 7-11.  The Huskies placed 11th in this season's AAC preseason poll.

Navy has posted a 7-14 record against members of the AAC.  This includes a 5-9 record since the Mids moved to the Division I level in 1991.  The last time Navy faced an AAC-member school was in 2016 when it lost to East Carolina.  UConn has tallied a 39-18 record against the Patriot League.  This includes a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross a season ago.

Up Next
Navy will travel to Richmond, Va., where it will face Alabama and UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 6-7, respectively, at the VCU Invitational.