ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The service line proved to be the determining factor in Army posting a four-set victory over the Navy volleyball team, Saturday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.  The Black Knights (9-4, 3-1 Patriot League) defeated the Mids (5-7, 1-2), 25-21, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18, in the annual Star Match, part of the Star Series presented by USAA.

With the teams playing to a near statistical standstill across the remainder of the box score, Navy totaled eight aces and 16 service errors to four aces and seven service errors for Army.

"Army was the better team tonight," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "It is a tough loss for us, but ultimately our goal of winning the Patriot League and advancing to the NCAA Tournament remains the same.  We showed flashes of excellent play tonight.  Now we get back to work to build our level of consistent, physical play."

Army turned a slim 11-10 lead in the first set into a 16-11 advantage.  Navy closed to within three points several times, including at 17-14, but then fell behind 21-15.  The Mids slowly drew back to within three points at 24-21 before a kill by Army ended the set.

The second set was similar to the first in the timing of one team making a move, with this time it being the Mids.  Navy held a 9-8 lead before a 5-0 run boosted it out to a 14-8 cushion.  Army tallied back-to-back points, but that was followed by the Mids breaking out to a 21-11 advantage.

Set number three was tied at 5-5 when Army went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-5 lead.  The margin grew to six points at 13-7 before Navy sliced it down to three points at 13-10.  The Black Knights accounted for the next three points (16-10), then took leads of 20-13 and 22-14 on their way to taking a 2-1 lead in sets.

Army scored six of the first seven points of the fourth set to immediately put Navy on its heels.  The gap between the teams hovered between four and eight points over the remainder of the stanza.

Army registered one more kill (49-48), one more block (8-7) and six more digs (67-61) than Navy.  Additionally, the Black Knights held a .275-.186 advantage in hitting percentage, with much of that due to their handling serve receive better than the Mids for longer stretches of time.

Jamie Llewellyn (So., Port Deposit, Md.) led Navy with 12 kills and three aces, Avery Stowell (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) posted 10 kills and Kimberly Lynch (Sr., Murrieta, Calif.) grabbed 20 digs.  Additionally, Stowell, Maggie Bodman (So., Northbrook, Ill.) and Anna Klemeyer (So., Saraosta, Fla.) each registered three blocks.

Navy will take to the road next weekend for matches at Bucknell on Friday and at Lehigh on Saturday.