ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A stout defense led by 29 digs from Hannah Hoover provided enough offensive opportunities for the Navy volleyball team to outlast Lehigh in four sets, Thursday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.  The Mids (16-8, 8-7) defeated the Mountain Hawks (13-14, 5-11), 30-28, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16.

"I thought our passers handled the Lehigh servers really well," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "They have three players ranked among the league leaders in aces, so we knew it would be a tough test.

"Hannah led our defensive prep this week.  She watched a lot of film and worked with her back row players on what adjustments we might need in the middle of the match."

Set One
Navy took several early three-point leads, then extended its advantage to 17-12.  A Lehigh timeout ensued and the Mountain Hawks quickly climbed back into the set with a 4-0 run to close to within one point, then used another 3-0 run to take a 20-19 lead.  The teams continued to sideout (score on the other team's serve), until Lehigh reached set point with a 24-23 lead.  

The Mids answered with back-to-back points to reach set point of their own, 25-24.  The teams went into a sequence of sideout scoring again until a kill by Jordan Llewellyn gave Navy a 30-28 win on their fifth serve for the set.

Navy scored on 21 of Lehigh's 28 serves and the Mountain Hawks scored on 21 of the 30 serves by the Mids.

Set Two
The teams kept playing point-for-point until Navy went on a 4-0 spurt to take an 18-14 lead.  Just as in set one, a Lehigh timeout sparked a rally for the Mountain Hawks as after the break they went on a 3-0 run to make the score 18-17, soon tied the score at 19-19 and took a 21-20 lead.  Navy responded with a 4-0 run of its own to reach set point with a 24-21 lead.  The Mountain Hawks scored on a kill, then Llewellyn again ended the set with a kill.

Set Three
There were a combined 29 ties and eight lead changes in the first two sets (16 and six, respectively, in the second set), but Lehigh never trailed and the score was never tied in the third set.  The Mountain Hawks, who needed to win the match to secure a berth in the Patriot League Tournament, took leads of 2-0 and 5-2 at the start of the frame.  Navy drew to within one point several times, but a 3-0 run gave Lehigh a 14-9 cushion.  It soon became a six-point margin at 17-11, 18-12, 19-13 and 20-14.  

The Mids put together a rally of their own and made it a one-point deficit at 20-19.  However, Lehigh responded by scoring the next three points, which was enough of a lead to force a fourth set.

Set Four
Navy was the team that never trailed in what proved to be the last set in a 130-minute match.  The Mids jumped out to a 7-4 lead, expanded it to 11-5 and eventually took a 15-7 lead.  Navy soon led, 22-13, before closing out the set.

The Mids scored a point on 82 percent of Lehigh's serves in the last set (14 of 17).

Statistical Notes
Navy posted 62 kills and a .207 hitting percentage and limited Lehigh to 53 kills and a .186 hitting effort.  Much of the differences between the teams in the offensive categories came in the fourth set as the Mids led the Mountain Hawks 14-8 in kills and .250-.051 in hitting percentage in the stanza (through three sets Navy held a 48-45 lead in kills and Lehigh held a .227-.194 lead in hitting percentage).

"Our hitters really hit some smart shots," said Labrador.  "Lehigh has two of the top middle blockers in the league and we spent a good portion of the week planning our swing selections.

Navy registered 12 blocks and Lehigh finished with eight blocks.  Neither team could get their serve going as the Mids tallied four aces and nine errors while the Mountain Hawks totaled three aces and 12 errors.

Hoover's 29 digs were a career high, tie her for third place in school history (since 1994) for digs in a match that lasted four sets and tie her for third place for any length of match played in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.

Having a strong offensive and defensive night was Llewellyn with 22 kills, 15 digs and three blocks.  Joining her with a double-double was her twin sister, Jamie Llewellyn, with 16 kills and 11 digs, and setter Averi Miller who finished with 30 assists and 11 digs.

Additionally, middle blockers Anna Klemeyer totaled eight kills and five blocks and Maggie Bodman posted four kills and seven blocks.  Matching Klemeyer's blocking total was Ashley Warren who also contributed seven kills.

Klemeyer, Bodman, Warren, Miller and the Llewellyn's were honored prior to the start of the match on the team's Senior Night.

"It was a really special night," said Labrador.  "These seniors have been the backbone of the program for quite awhile.  It is wonderful to see them play hard, play together and represent themselves the program and the Naval Academy.

Up Next
Navy closes its regular season Saturday at 8 p.m. when the Mids play host to Army in the annual Star Match.