FAIRFAX, Va. –– Paige Miles (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) posted the first double-double of her career as part of a productive all-around match to lead the Navy (3-3) volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19) victory over George Mason (2-4), Tuesday night in Fairfax, Va.
 
"We really had to battle tonight against an athletic George Mason team," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "It was hard to put the ball down against their defense.  We steadied ourselves at key moments and were able to push through some errors we made on our side of the net.  The 'next play' mentality of this team was demonstrated tonight."
 
Miles staked the Mids to a 7-0 lead at the start of set one with her serving.  Included in that stretch were a pair of aces for the setter.  The Navy lead would grow to 11-2 before Mason started to chip away at the margin.  The home team closed to within five points at 16-11, 17-12 and 20-15.  An ace by Maddi Sgattoni (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) started a 3-0 run for the Mids that pushed through for the win.
 
Amanda Montag (Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calf.) totaled six kills and zero attack errors on 10 swings in the set one win.
 
George Mason flipped the set one script in set two as it took an 8-3 lead.  Navy was able to quickly close to within 9-8, then had seven more opportunities to tie the set –– with the last coming at 18-17 –– but couldn't convert any of them.   
 
Navy totaled more kills and a higher hitting percentage than Mason in the set, but also had more errors from across the box score that turned out to be the difference.
 
Navy separated from George Mason midway through the third set when the Mids turned a 9-7 lead into a 15-7 advantage. Natalie LaPlaca (Sr., Owings, Md.) served throughout the run.  The lead grew to 17-10 only to see it winnowed down to 17-14.  After a kill from Montag, Miles stepped back to the service line and recorded two aces as part of a 5-0 run that made the score 22-14 in favor of the Mids.
 
The Mids held a 7-6 lead in set four when Emily Solis (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) dropped in an ace that led to their taking a 10-6 advantage.  The lead became 15-9, but then George Mason sliced the difference down to one point at 15-14.  A Mason service error (16-14) sent Miles back to the service line and her last effort was with Navy holding a 20-14 lead.  That cushion continued through the rest of the set.
 
Navy finished with 55 kills and a .212 attack percentage and held George Mason to 36 kills and a .140 hitting night.  The Mids also held a 74-65 edge in digs.  Navy additionally registered eight aces and 14 errors and George Mason finished with seven aces and 11 errors.
 
The Mids had great balance on offense and defense.  Five players had at least eight kills and five had at least 10 digs.  Montag with 14 kills and Sgattoni with 11 paced the offense and Solis with 22 digs led the defense.  Miles finished the match with 44 assists, 11 digs, four kills, three aces and one solo block.
 
"Paige had a solid match in all facets of the game," said Labrador.  "She was in the middle of all of the runs we had, whether it was with her serving, her setting, her defense or her attacking.
 
"Natalie's play can't be overlooked, especially in the last half of the match.  Her serving in set three started the run that gave us our initial breathing room.  And her defense during that span was a real spark."
 
Navy now heads to the Midwest to take part in the Michigan Challenge.  The Mids will play Friday at No. 24 Michigan in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament first round match, then will play at fellow 2018 NCAA Tournament team Eastern Michigan on Saturday.