Click the above image to access a video preview of this weekend's matches.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– After four weeks of facing teams from 10 different conferences, the Navy (5-6) volleyball team will begin its Patriot League campaign with matches Friday at Army West Point (8-4) and Saturday at Holy Cross (3-11). Friday's match between the Mids and the Black Knights is this year's Star Match, part of the Star Series presented by USAA, and will start at 7 p.m., and Saturday's match against the Crusaders will begin at 4 p.m.
Links to live statistics and free live video from both matches can be found on NavySports.com.
"I really like the level of volleyball we have seen in the past four weeks," said Navy head coach
Paco Labrador. "We were pushed in every match to play full-speed, dialed-in volleyball for the entirety of the match. Our opponents were talented enough to never allow us to 'cruise.' We have played 42 sets of volleyball where every serve, every pass, every contact mattered. Now we plan to carry over these valuable lessons of consistent, focused, physical play into our Patriot League season.
"Army has a ton of experience returning. Every player in their starting lineup has big game experience and knows what it takes to win. They play a fast, physical, aggressive brand of volleyball. Holy Cross really challenged themselves during the early season schedule. Their record doesn't really reflect how well they have played. Like us, they have pushed some very good teams to the limit, only to come fractionally short in deciding fifth sets."
Navy Review
Navy heads into league play after posting a 1-2 record during the Mountaineer Invite in Morgantown, W.Va. The Mids won a three-set decision over Eastern Kentucky and lost five-set matches to both Duquesne and West Virginia. The latter two matches were played on Saturday, marking the first time in 16 seasons and the fifth time in Navy Division I history (since 1991) in which the Mids played two five-set matches on the same day.
Avery Stowell (So., Yorba Linda, Calif.) was named to the all-tournament team on the weekend. She totaled 38 kills, 18 digs, 12 blocks and six aces during the course of the weekend. Also having strong performances for the Mids were
Cami Herman (So., Brookfield, Wis.), 32 kills;
Amanda Montag (Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), 30 kills on Saturday; and
Paige Miles (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.), 104 assists and 26 digs.
Army Preview
Army heads into Friday's match in Gillis Field House as winners of five of its last six matches. Included among the results for the Black Knights this season have been a four-set loss to Hawaii and a five-set loss to Sacramento State.
Army missed the four-team Patriot League Tournament in 2018 for the first time since 1998 as the Black Knights finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the league –– but missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker, which dropped them to sixth place –– with a 9-7 record. The Black Knights were predicted to finish in fifth place in the Patriot League this year.
The home team has won each of the last six Star Matches, Navy has not won a Star Match at Army since 2005 and the Mids have not won at West Point in any match since 2014.
The home team won both matches played during the 2018 season –– as well as in 2016 and 2017 –– with the Mids winning in three sets in Annapolis last year and the Black Knights earning a four-set victory in West Point.
Holy Cross Preview
Holy Cross plays host to Loyola Friday in Blaney Gym before facing the Mids Saturday. The Crusaders have dropped matches this season to No. 8 Penn State and to a Connecticut team that Navy defeated. The Holy Cross loss to the Huskies was one of three defeats for the Crusaders this year that have been in five sets.
The Crusaders placed seventh in the league last season with a 7-9 record. Two of those losses came to Navy, with the Mids winning in three sets in Annapolis and in four sets in Worcester.
Holy Cross was tabbed to place eighth in the league in 2019.
Up Next
Navy will open its home season with matches in the Wesley A. Brown Field House Oct. 4 vs. Lafayette (7 p.m.) and Oct. 5 vs. Lehigh (noon).
