WASHINGTON, D.C. –– American's Zeynep Uzen knocked down 28 kills and added 15 digs to help the Eagles battle past the Navy volleyball team in four sets, Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.  The Eagles (13-11, 7-4 Patriot League) defeated the Mids (9-11, 5-6), 27-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, in a match that saw the score tied 30 times and last over two hours.

"Credit to American," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "I thought we took some nice swings that their defenders kept off the floor.  We tried a few different lineups, which gave us some new matchups and we executed well in set three."

American took early leads in set one of 6-3 and 10-6, then Navy tied the score at 12-12.  The Eagles held a 14-13 lead when they went on a 4-0 run that gave them an 18-13 advantage.  The score was 19-15 in favor of American when Navy went on a run of its own that gave it a 21-19 lead and resulted in the Eagles calling their second timeout.  A block extended the lead to 22-19 before a kill by the Eagles made it a two-point difference (22-20).  An American ace sliced the margin in half, after which Labrador used Navy's second timeout.  A Jordan Llewellyn (So, Port Deposit, Md.) kill gave the serve back to the Mids with a 23-21 lead.  The next point saw Avery Stowell (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Anna Klemeyer (So., Sarasota, Fla.) team for a block to take Navy to set point.  

Klemeyer was whistled for a blocking error to make the score 24-22.  A Navy attack error made it a one-point difference, which was erased on an American kill.  The longest rally of the match ensued, and it ended with an American kill that gave the Eagles a 25-24 lead and the chance to serve for the set.  Klemeyer tied the frame at 25-25 with a kill of her own.  Uzen recorded her ninth kill of the set to give the Eagles a 26-25 lead, then she posted her 10th kill to give the Eagles a 27-25 win.

Uzen recorded 10 kills on 20 swings in the first set and also added a team-best six digs.  The rest of the American team recorded eight kills and the Mids as a whole tallied 12 kills.

American again took an early lead in the second set as the Eagles were in front of the Mids by scores of 6-3 and 11-6.  The Mids closed to within two points at 11-9, but the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to extend their cushion to 15-9.  That margin grew to 21-13 when the Mids rallied to within four points at 21-17.  The teams traded sideouts (22-18), then American closed the set with a 3-0 run.

Uzen added nine more kills in the set to raise her total to 19, with the rest of the American team accruing 15 kills.  Navy as a team had 21 kills through two sets.

Neither team held any kind of significant lead in the third set until Navy went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage.  American quickly drew even at 17-17.  Four-straight sideouts made the score 19-19, then an American kill on its serve broke the tie (20-19).  Setter Averi Miller (so., Phoenix, Ariz.) scored off of a poor pass from the Eagle to tie the score again.  Cami Herman (Sr., Brookfield, Wis.) broke the tie with a kill, then Llewellyn gave Navy a 22-20 lead with an ace.  An American timeout ensued.

Bodman and Miller combined for a block after the break to make the score 23-20.  Herman followed with a kill to take the Mids to set point with a 24-20 lead, after which the Eagles called their second timeout.  Another ace by Llewellyn closed out the frame.

American jumped out to an 8-4 lead at the start of set four, but Navy answered and took a 9-8 lead.  From there, the score would be tied at 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19.  Herman dropped in an ace to give the Mids a 20-19 lead, but a Navy attack error tied the set yet again at 20-20.    Llewellyn broke the tie with a kill, then she added another one to give Navy a 22-20 advantage and cause an American timeout to be called.

An American kill cut the lead in half, then another kill by the Eagles tied the set at 22-22.  The Eagles blocked the next point to give them a 23-22 lead.  An ace followed to take American to match point up 24-22.  Uzen ended the match with her 28th kill of the contest.

Uzen accounted for 28 of American's 54 kills in the match.  Equally impressive was her committing just eight attack errors on 68 swings and recording a .294 hitting percentage.  Her 15 digs ranked second on the team to the team's primary passer Chiara Boseti's 17.  The remainder of the American team totaled 26 kills and 12 attack errors on 71 attempts for a .197 hitting percentage.

Navy as a team recorded 49 kills and a .137 hitting percentage.  The Mids led the Eagles in aces, 9-5, American led Navy in digs, 62-54, and each team totaled six blocks.

Llewellyn paced the Navy offense with 14 kills, Miller dished out 37 assists and led Navy with three aces and Kimberly Lynch (Sr., Murietta, Calif.) grabbed 11 digs.

Patriot League Standings (16-match season, top-6 teams make the tournament)
10-1 Colgate
8-3 Lafayette
8-3 Army
7-4 American
6-4 Loyola
5-6 Navy
2-9 Lehigh
2-9 Bucknell
1-10 Holy Cross