ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Jamie Llewellyn recorded four of her team-high 15 kills in the fifth set, with her final swing being a kill that ended a 22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 15-13 victory by the Navy (12-5, 4-4) volleyball team over American (11-9, 4-4), Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.

"American is a well-coached team and the set-by-set adjustments they made, particularly from the right antenna, were tough to stop," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "I thought our defense really stepped up late in the match."

Set One
Neither team could separate from the other as the score was tied 14 times.  The last tie came at 22-22, which was followed two kills and a block by the Eagles that gave them the opening frame.

Set Two
Navy held a 16-15 lead when back-to-back kills from Jordan Llewellyn pushed the advantage to three points at 18-15.  After a kill by American, Jordan Llewellyn posted another kill followed by a solo block and then Averi Miller dropped in a service ace to make the score 21-16.  That was enough of a cushion for the Mids to tie the match at one set apiece.

Set Three
American went on a 4-0 run to take a late 22-17 lead.  It soon was a 23-18 lead for the Eagles, but back came the Mids and Navy tied the score at 23-23.  A Navy service error gave the serve and the lead to American, then Zeynep Uzen posted a kill to close the set in favor of the Eagles.

Set Four
Navy used a 4-0 run -- which included two aces by Hannah Hoover -- to take a 16-10 lead a little more than half through the set.  That advantage soon grew to 18-11 and then 21-12 as the Mids hit a match-best .364 in the set and limited American to a .033 mark.

Set Five
Navy held a slim 7-6 lead when a kill by Jordan Llewellyn followed by two-straight American attack errors gave the Mids a 10-6 lead.  An American kill and a Navy attack error cut that margin in half.  The teams traded sideouts to make the score 12-9, then a kill by Maggie Bodman made it a 13-9 lead.  The Eagles again sliced the margin in half on a kill and Navy attack error.  Jamie Llewellyn notched a kill to take the Mids to match point with a 14-11 lead.  Two-straight kills by the Eagles made it a 14-13 Navy advantage.  Jamie Llewellyn posted a kill on the next play to end the match that lasted nearly 150 minutes.

"We need to play a cleaner brand of volleyball over the course of an entire match," said Labrador.  "We benefited from service errors by American that bailed us out of some tough spots.  We have lots of room to grow as we had into the last half of the Patriot League season."

Statistical Notes
Navy played five five-set matches during its entire 2022 16-match Patriot League season, which tied the school record for the most since the league started playing that slate in 2014.  The Mids already have played five five-set matches through eight league matches this season.  Additionally, four of Navy's last five matches have been extended to five sets.

American led Navy in kills, 59-54, but the Eagles also recorded 32 attack errors in contrast to the 23 posted by the Mids.  That allowed Navy to lead American, .199-.159, in hitting percentage.

The Mids also had a more efficient effort from the service line than the Eagles as Navy finished with eight aces and nine errors to better the five aces and 16 errors for American.

Jamie Llewellyn totaled 15 kills, grabbed an equal number of digs and recorded two solo blocks.  Jordan Llewellyn tallied 14 kills, seven digs, three aces and two blocks.  Miller accrued another double-double of 47 assists and 11 digs.  Hoover had a third ace in the match to go along with her team-best 16 digs.  Middle hitters Anna Klemeyer and Maggie Bodman combined for 15 kills.

Navy and American will play again in eight days (Oct. 21) in Washington, D.C.

Before the Mids face the Eagles, Navy will play host to Loyola Wednesday night.