WEST POINT, N.Y. –– After playing three close sets, the Navy (12-11, 8-6 Patriot League) volleyball team separated itself from Army (16-7, 10-4) midway through set four to close out a 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14 victory.  The match that took just over two hours to play saw the score tied on 30 occasions and the lead change hands 16 times.

The victory was the first for the Mids over Army in a match played at West Point since 2014.  

"Each team played their hearts out," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "It felt like Army's defense was everywhere.

"(Assistant coach) Kristina Fultz put together an excellent game plan and prepared our team extremely well.  The team was dialed in and executed in some tight moments."

The opening set was tied at every point from 11-11 through 23-23.  A kill by Navy's Jamie Llewellyn (So., Port Deposit, Md.) forced the 16th tie and what would prove to be the final knotted score of the stanza.  That led to Army calling timeout.  Llewellyn tallied another kill to give the Mids a 24-23 lead and resulted in the Black Knights calling their second timeout.  When play resumed, Llewellyn put down a third-straight kill to give Navy the opening set.

The second set began with Army jumping out to a 4-0 lead.  Navy answered by scoring the ensuing seven points.  The Mids soon led, 11-7, but a 7-0 run by the Black Knights gave the home team a 14-11 advantage.  It was eventually a 20-15 and 21-16 lead for Army, then the Black Knights took a 23-17 lead.  Back came the Mids to within two points at 23-21, but a sideout took the Black Knights to set point with a 24-21 lead.  Llewellyn responded with back-to-back kills to winnow the Navy deficit down to one point at 24-23.  An Army timeout ensued, and this time Llewellyn could not register a third kill in a row as the Black Knights scored the next point on a Navy blocking error to even the match.

Army again had a strong start to the third set as it took early leads of 3-1, 6-3 and 9-5.  Navy chipped away and soon a 4-0 spurt gave it a 14-12 lead.  The score would be tied at 14-14 and 15-15, then a 3-0 run by the Black Knights pushed them in front, 18-15.  The Mids were able to tie the frame at 21-21.  The teams exchanged the next four points to make the score 23-23, with Navy having the serve following a kill by Maggie Bodman (So., Northbrook, Ill.) that tied the score.  Bodman knocked down a kill on the next point as well to take the Mids to set point.  Navy converted the opportunity on an Army attack error.

The fourth set started off similar to the first three in that it was very close.  Army held an 8-7 lead when the Mids went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-8 advantage.  The score would quickly be 14-10 in favor of the Mids when an Avery Stowell (Sr., Yorba Linds, Calif.) kill kickstarted a 6-0 run that put Navy in front, 20-10.  That was enough of a cushion for the Mids to hang on for the win.

Navy posted only four more kills than Army, 54-50, but the Black Knights committed 29 attack errors and the Mids registered just 16 attack errors.  Navy held a slim 6-4 edge in aces, trailed 83-73 in digs and tallied a 9-5 advantage in blocks.

The Mids totaled 14 kills and one error in hitting .310 in set one, and tallied 14 kills and one error in hitting .500 in set four.  Those efforts boosted Navy to a .230-.131 advantage in hitting percentage for the match.

Stowell finished the match with 17 kills, which was a new season high and fell one kill shy of tying her career high which was set in a five-set match.  She totaled one error in 17 swings for a .340 hitting night.  Also having an effective performance were Llewellyn with 13 kills and Bodman with 10 kills and one error on 23 attempts (.391).  

"Our right antenna hitters were both seniors on a mission," said Labrador.  "Taylor Gray (Sr., Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Avery took some tremendous swings tonight.  Maggie has worked very hard on hitting slides behind the setter.  Tonight, we found her when we needed her."  

Stowell and Llewellyn each accounted for two aces.  Defensively, Kimberly Lynch (Sr., Murrietta, Calif.) grabbed 19 digs, Cami Herman (Sr., Brookfield, Wis.) had 15 digs and Averi Miller (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) snared 14 digs to go along with her 38 assists.  Additionally, Stowell, Bodman and Herman each had three blocks to end the match one behind team leader Anna Klemeyer's (So., Sarasota, Fla.) total of four.

"I'm really proud of our passers," said Labrador.  "Kimmy and Cami were targeted all night and they sustained passing at a high level in a tough gym."

Navy will remain in New York State overnight for a Saturday afternoon match at Colgate.

Patriot League Standings (16-match season)
1. 12-2 Colgate
2. 10-4 Army
3. 9-4 Lafayette
4. 9-5 American
5. 8-6 Navy
6. 7-6 Loyola
T7. 3-11 Lehigh
T7. 3-11 Bucknell
9. 1-13 Holy Cross