ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A three-set victory by the Navy volleyball team over Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House helped the Mids clinch a berth in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mids (15-8, 7-7) defeated the Crusaders (4-20, 1-14), 25-14, 25-15, 25-13.
The Navy victory coupled with losses by Lafayette and Loyola qualifies the Mids for the postseason. Navy will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the tournament and will play a road quarterfinal round match Nov. 14.
"I can't say enough about this bounce back win," said Navy head coach
Paco Labrador of today's match coming less than 24 hours after a five-set loss to Colgate. "Holy Cross is a well-coached, dangerous team. Our staff put together a great offensive game plan and blocking scheme, but it is the players on the court who put their minds together to execute it, and they nailed it. The hitting percentages speaks well of that.
"This is a great momentum win for us leading into a critical last week of the regular season."
Set One
Holy Cross quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead, which led to Labrador calling an immediate timeout. The Mids gathered their focus during the spirited stoppage in play and responded with a 7-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. The cushion grew to 17-8 as Navy gained the 1-0 lead in sets.
Set Two
Navy was the team to have the fast start as it scored the first eight points of the frame to build a cushion Holy Cross never really cut into.
Set Three
Holy Cross took a 3-2 lead, which resulted in Labrador calling another early timeout. The Mids again responded, this time with an 8-2 run that gave them a 10-4 advantage. Navy expanded the lead to 18-8 as it finished out the 71-minute match.
Statistical Notes
Navy posted 36 kills and just nine attack errors to finish with a .355 hitting percentage. The Mids also dropped in eight aces and recorded 11 blocks. Holy Cross ended the match with 21 kills, 19 attack errors, a .025 hitting percentage, two aces and five blocks.
Navy had four players total at least seven kills.
Jordan Llewellyn paced the Mids with nine,
Jamie Llewellyn registered eight and the pair of
Anna Klemeyer and
Paige Buzzerio each had seven. Klemeyer hit .583 and
Jordan Llewellyn had a .533 hitting afternoon. Defensively,
Hannah Hoover grabbed 10 digs and
Maggie Bodman posted five blocks.
Up Next
Navy will close the regular season with matches at home Nov. 9 against Lehigh (7 p.m.) and Nov. 11 against Army (8 p.m.) in the Star Match between the programs.
"This team set a lot of goals at the start of the season," said Labrador. "To reach the ultimate goal of winning the Patriot League Tournament, you have to first get in to it. That part has been accomplished, and we should feel good about doing so. Now, we need to carry over our focus and continue improving to reach the goals still ahead of us in the regular season and then we can start to turn the page to the postseason."
Patriot League Standings (top 6 teams make the tournament)
1. 12-3 - Colgate (1 match left)
2. 11-4 - Army (1 match left)
3. 10-4 - Bucknell (2 matches left)
4. 10-5 - American (1 match left)
5. 7-7 - Navy (2 matches left)
6. 5-9 - Lehigh (2 matches left)
T7. 5-10 Lafayette (1 match left)
T7. 5-10 - Loyola (1 match left)
9. 1-14 - Holy Cross (1 match left)
