ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– A pair of road matches in Pennsylvania are on the schedule for the Navy volleyball team this weekend. The Mids (5-7, 1-2 Patriot League) will play at Bucknell (5-8, 1-3) on Friday and at Lehigh (4-10, 1-3) on Saturday.
Friday's match between the Mids and the Bison will start at 7 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa. A live video stream of the match will be provided by ESPN+. Live statistics from the match will be available on NavySports.com, as they also will for Saturday's 4 p.m. match between the Mids and the Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pa.
About Navy
Navy split its two Patriot League matches last weekend, defeating Colgate in three sets and losing in four sets to Army. Each match was played in Annapolis.
The weekend began with the Mids posting a 26-24, 25-21, 25-19 victory over the Raiders. Navy was the more efficient hitting team as it produced 46 kills and a .250 attack percentage to better the marks of 35 kills and .186 hitting percentage posted by Colgate.
Jamie Llewellyn (So., Port Deposit, Md.) led Navy with 14 kills, a .500 attack percentage and two aces.
Untimely serving miscues hurt the Mids the next day in their 25-21, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18 loss to the Black Knights. Navy dropped in eight aces but also registered 16 service errors (Army had four aces and seven errors). Additionally, the Mids committed eight more attack errors (21-13) than the Black Knights.
Llewellyn again paced the Mids with 12 kills and three aces, and
Kimberly Lynch (Sr., Murrieta, Calif.) snared a team-high 20 digs.
Tough Schedule
The five non-Patriot League teams Navy has lost to this season have combined for a 53-10 record (84.1%) through matches of Sept. 29. This includes Michigan, which was ranked 23rd at the time of the match between the Mids and the Wolverines.
Navy's Non-League Losses – W-L (through Sept. 29)
Towson – 15-1
Michigan – 8-3 (loss to No. 9 Minnesota)
West Virginia – 12-1 (loss to #20 Penn State)
Liberty – 6-4
Loyola Marymount – 12-1 (loss to #8 Purdue)
Navy ranks 62nd nationally and first in the Patriot League for the toughest schedule played to date, as determined by the NCAA using opponent winning percentage.
NCAA Toughest Schedule (through Sept. 27)
62nd – Navy
106th – Lehigh
142nd – Colgate
185th – Army
199th – Holy Cross
212th – Loyola
257th – American
298th – Bucknell
303rd – Lafayette
About Bucknell
Bucknell prepares to play host to Navy with an overall record of 5-8 and a Patriot League mark of 1-3. The Bison opened league play with a 3-0 loss to Army, followed that with a 3-1 win at Holy Cross, lost to Lafayette in three sets at home and dropped a 3-0 decision at Lehigh.
Navy and Bucknell did not face each other during the 2020-21 spring season. The Mids defeated the Bison in both 2019 meetings, winning in three sets in Annapolis and in four sets in Lewisburg.
About Lehigh
Lehigh heads into a Friday match at home against Loyola with a 4-10 overall record and a 1-3 record through the early portion of the league slate.
The Mountain Hawks have lost three five-set decisions this year, including one to Army two weeks ago in West Point. Lehigh also has lost league matches to Colgate (3-0) and Lafayette (3-1) and defeated Bucknell (3-0).
Of Lehigh's 15 sets played during the league season, 11 have been decided by no more than five points. The Mountain Hawks have posted a 4-7 record in those close sets, which includes a 2-3 record in sets decided by either two or three points.
The abbreviated 2021 spring campaign did not include a match between the teams. Navy defeated Lehigh twice during the 2019 regular season (3-0, 3-1) and then again in the quarterfinal round of the league tournament (3-0).
