ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– On Saturday, for the second time in less than 24 hours, the Navy and Loyola volleyball teams squared off in a match that was extended into five sets.  The Mids edged the Greyhounds both Friday night in Baltimore and again Saturday afternoon in Annapolis.  Navy (2-0) came away with a 25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 18-25, 15-10 victory over Loyola (0-2) today in Alumni Hall.
 
"Loyola played exceptional defense today," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "Their back-row players made great adjustments and their pin blockers were all solid.  Later in the match, getting a ball to fall on their side of the court was tough.  That forced us to find a way to win.  I'm proud of the energy we found to push ahead in the fifth set."
 
Navy won last night's match thanks to jumping out to an 8-1 lead in the fifth set.  The Mids seemed to carry that late momentum into today's contest as they took leads of 5-1 and 8-2 in the first set.  Navy grew the lead out to 21-14 and 22-16, but Loyola answered by scoring the next six points to tie the frame at 22-22.  A ball-handling error by the Greyhounds gave Navy a one-point lead, but a kill by Loyola's Abby Hamilton tied the score at 23-23.  Avery Stowell (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) recorded a kill for the Mids to take them to set point, and Tessa Bohn (So., Nokomis, Fla.) converted that opportunity on a service ace.
 
The Mids put together their most complete set of the weekend in the second stanza.  Navy took leads of 7-1 and 12-2 on its way to winning, 25-9.  Navy hit .500 in the set and limited Loyola to a (-).192 hitting percentage. 
 
Loyola placed Navy on its heels at the very start of the third set as the Greyhounds scored the opening three points, which led to a very quick timeout being called by Labrador.  The Mids were able to close to within two points on several opportunities before the Greyhounds built leads of 14-9 and 19-13.  Navy tried to rally and pulled to within 23-20 of Loyola, but three-straight sideouts extended the match into a fourth set.
 
The fourth set would see the score tied 11 times and the lead change hands six times.  What would prove to be the final tie came at 15-15.  Loyola scored the next three points to take an 18-15 lead.  Back-to-back points by the Mids drew them to within one point at 18-17, but the Greyhounds ran off the next six points to take a 24-17 lead.
 
Navy totaled 11 kills in the fourth set to just 10 for the Loyola, but the Greyhounds hit .108 in the set and held the Mids to a (-).023 effort. 
 
One of Navy's best scoring rotations in the first four sets came when Macy Winter (So., Lakeville, Minn.) was the server.  After winning the coin toss and electing to serve, Winter dropped back behind the service line to begin the final set.  The Mids would score the first five points of the frame on two kills by Maggie Bodman (Fr., Northbrook, Ill.), two Loyola hitting errors and a block from the tandem of Bodman and Celie Feighery (So., Oak Hill, Va.).  That led to a Loyola timeout being called.
 
The Greyhounds started to claw back into the game after the stoppage and very quickly made the score 6-5, which led to a Navy timeout.  Maddi Sgattoni (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) recorded a kill after the break, then Bodman notched a kill and a Loyola hitting error followed to make the score 9-5 and result in a second Loyola timeout being requested.  The Greyhounds made it three-point games at 10-7, 11-8, 12-9 and 13-10 before a Loyola service error and a kill by Bodman closed out the two-hour, five-minute match.
 
Navy held a .169-.123 advantage in hitting percentage today.  The Mids also led the Greyhounds in aces (6-4) and digs (74-63). Loyola held a slight 11-10 lead in blocks.
 
Bodman led the Mids with 12 kills.  She committed just one attack error on 18 attempts for a .611 attack percentage, and also led Navy with five blocks.  Bodman posted four kills and no attack errors on five attempts in the fifth set.
 
"Maggie had a great match," said Labrador.  "She certainly scored well for us but, more importantly, she made all of the little plays that sometimes go unnoticed."
 
Sgattoni totaled a double-double of 11 kills and 15 digs, Stowell posted 10 kills and 13 digs, and Kimberly Lynch (Jr., Murrietta, Calif.) snared a match-high 21 digs.  Additionally, Feighery dished out 45 assists.
 
Loyola's Hamilton led all players with 17 kills.
 
After the teams played a combined four hours and 25 minutes against each other this weekend, they will meet again next weekend.  Navy will play at Loyola Friday before the Greyhounds play at the Mids Saturday.