LYNCHBURG, Va. –– The Navy volleyball team (4-5) closed its non-league slate of matches with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-22 loss to Loyola Marymount (6-1), Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg, Va.
Navy's losses this autumn have come to two-time defending America East Conference-champion Towson, which is now 12-0 on the year, Michigan from the Big Ten Conference, which was ranked 23rd nationally at the time of the match against the Mids and currently has posted a 4-1 record, West Virginia from the Big 12 Conference, which defeated Michigan in Annapolis and is 8-0 this fall, a Liberty team that is 4-3 on the season and Loyola Marymount from the West Coast Conference, which is now 7-1 on the year after beating Liberty this evening and previously sweeping American earlier this fall.
"We mixed some new players into the lineup today," said Navy head coach
Paco Labrador. "Loyola Marymount plays faster than any team we have played, so this was a great opportunity for us to dial into the details that could help counter teams with their speed and size."
The Mids and Lions, who were playing for the first time, battled throughout the opening set. The stanza featured eight ties and four lead changes. Navy held a 19-17 lead when Loyola Marymount ran off five-straight points to take a 22-19 advantage. The Mids scored the next point on an attack error by the Lions, but that would be the last point tallied by Navy in the set.
Navy stayed in the set despite LMU holding advantages in both kills (14-8) and hitting percentage (.379-.065).
The Lions placed the Mids on their heels early in the second frame as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Navy never really could cut into the margin over the remainder of the set as they again were on the short end of the kills (14-8) and hitting percentage (.323-.067) comparison.
The early portion of the third set was a toss-up. The score was tied at 9-9 when a 6-0 spurt gave the Lions a 15-9 lead. The margin was still five points at 20-15 when Navy started to make a move. The Mids climbed nearly all of the way back to pull to within one point at 22-21. A kill by LMU followed by a block by the Lions took them to match point. Navy registered a sideout to keep the proceedings going, but a service error by the Mids closed the contest.
The matinee ended with LMU holding statistical advantages over Navy in kills (42-26), hitting percentage (.315-.102), digs (38-33) and blocks (8-3).
A total of 14 Mids took to the court in the match. Eight players recorded at least one kill and eight registered at least one dig. Leading the team were
Cami Herman (Sr., Brookfield, Wis.) with eight kills and
Kimberly Lynch (Sr., Murrietta, Calif.) with 10 digs.
"It was great to see the step-up mentality we received from
Rilee Sherman (So., Cibolo, Texas),
Lydia Peton (So., Christiansburg, Va.),
Katie Jackowski (Fr., Saint John, Ind.) and
Taylor Gray (Sr., Huntington Beach, Calif.)," said Labrador.
Sherman knocked down two kills in her one set of playing time, Peton and Jackowski each had three kills on four swings in their one respective set, and Gray took to the court in all three sets and posted four kills.
"We are still 5-6 plays away," said Labrador. "I'm looking forward to a really productive week as we head into Patriot League play."
Navy opens Patriot League play Sept. 19 at Loyola.
