COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A career-high 18 kills from Jordan Llewellyn (Jr., Port Deposit, Md.) powered the Navy (1-2) volleyball team to a four-set victory over Rhode Island (0-3), Saturday afternoon at the XFINITY Center Pavilion in College Park, Md.  The 25-20, 18-25, 25-16, 25-22 win by the Mids over the Rams closed out the Maryland Invitational and the opening weekend of the season for both teams.

"Rhode Island forced us to adapt several times throughout the match," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "I thought we countered them well on each occasion."

Set One
Navy took leads of 9-6, 13-9 and 16-11 to build a little cushion.  The margin was 21-16 when Rhode Island closed to within two points at 22-20.  A kill by Jordan Llewellyn and an attack error by the Rams gave the Mids set point (24-20).  Rhode Island quickly cut the gap in half (24-22) with a kill and a service ace, but another attack error by the Rams gave the opening set to the Mids.

Navy hit .348 and held Rhode Island to a mark of .048.  The Mids had just two attack errors and forced the Rams into nine hitting errors.  Jordan Llewellyn and Jamie Llewellyn (Jr., Port Deposit, Md.) accounted for seven of Navy's 10 kills in the set.  

Set Two
Navy jumped out to a 10-7 lead only to see Rhode Island take a 17-11 advantage.  The Mids were able to only close to within four points at 18-14 before the Rams won the set.

The hitting percentages flipped from the first set as the Mids committed eight attack errors while the Rams committed just three.  That gave Rhode Island a .297-.175 advantage over Navy.  

Set Three
The set was tied at 5-5 when the Mids opened up leads of 9-5, 13-8 and 18-10.  Navy would maintain a lead of at least five points over the rest of the set.

Navy more than doubled the number of kills recorded by Rhode Island in the set as the Mids posted 11 kills and limited the Rams to just five.  Navy hit .161 in the frame, but held Rhode Island to a (-).129 percentage.

Set Four
The Mids held a slim lead through the first half of the set.  The margin hovered between one and four points before the Rams went on a 4-0 run to tie the stanza at 17-17.  Navy regained the lead after consecutive kills from the Llewellyn sisters, then the teams recorded seven-straight sideouts to make the score 22-21 in favor of the Mids.  The Rams would tie the set at 22-22 on a hitting error by the Mids.  After a Navy timeout, Jordan Llewellyn posted another kill to break the tie, then a poor set by the Rams took the Mids to match point with a 24-22 lead.  A Rhode Island timeout ensued, but when play resumed Jordan Llewellyn registered another kill to give the victory in the set and the match to the Mids.

Stats Summary
Navy's offense totaled 54 kills and 23 attack errors (.228) and its defense allowed Rhode Island to record just 39 kills and 24 hitting errors (.121).  The Mids led the Rams, 13-5, in blocks.

Jordan Llewellyn added a .395 attack percentage, 10 digs and four blocks to go along with her 18 kills.  Jamie Llewellyn posted 11 kills, eight digs and two blocks in the match.  Middle hitters Maggie Bodman (Jr., Northbrook, Ill.) and Ava Toppin (Fr., Carolina Beach, N.C.) recorded seven and five blocks, respectively, and Hannah Hoover (So., Katy, Texas) snared nine digs.

"Ava really arrived in this match," said Labrador.  "She hit at an incredible efficiency (8 kills, no errors, 10 attempts) and made some high IQ blocking plays.  Jordan was really terminal today and found a nice mix of speeds."

Up Next
Navy returns to Annapolis for its annual tournament as the Mids will play host to the 11th edition of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational Sept. 1-3.  Navy will face VCU, Michigan State and UAlbany over the course of the three days in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.

"We have another set of elite opponents on our schedule this week," said Labrador.  "I am excited to see how the battles we had this weekend prepare us for the Kristen Dickmann Invitational."