ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy volleyball team made program history Sunday as the Mids (5-1) registered a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-23, 25-21) of Maryland (4-2) at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.

The victory was Navy's first against a team that was a member of the Big Ten Conference at the time of the match.  Additionally, Maryland had won all previous 10 matches in the series, including a three-set decision last year in College Park.

Navy's wins against teams that currently are in the Big Ten Conference came against Penn State (1979, as a member of the EIAWA) and Rutgers (1983, '84, '85, as a member of the Atlantic 10).  Navy was competing on the AIAW and NCAA Division II levels at the time of those victories. 

"Matches like today are the result of great senior leadership," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "This senior class has set the bar for focus, hard work and belief in each other.

"Maryland is a tough blocking team.  Once they started heating up, I thought our hitters evolved and found new ways to score.  (Assistant coach) Taylor van der Biezen prepped a great offensive plan for Averi Miller and (assistant coach) Josie Andres has been increasing our blocking IQ daily.  We made a lot of smart choices and executed extremely well."

Set One
The score was tied 10 times in the set and the lead changed hands on four occasions.  The largest lead for either team was four points, and that was when Maryland held an 18-14 advantage.

Navy quickly winnowed the deficit to one point at 18-17.  The Terrapins regained two-point leads at 19-17, 20-18 and 21-19.  A kill by Jamie Llewellyn accounted for the sixth sideout in a row, then a Maggie Bodman solo block knotted the proceedings at 21-21.  Another Maryland attack error gave Navy a 22-21 lead and led to a timeout being called by the Terps.

Maryland scored on a kill after the break in the action, but Llewellyn recorded another kill to make the score 23-22.  Another kill by the Terps tied the score, with Llewellyn following with her fifth kill in the frame to take the Mids to set point with a 24-23 lead.  After a Maryland timeout, the Terps committed another attack error to give the Mids the opening set.

Set Two
Navy tried to build some separation from Maryland as the Mids took several five point leads in the middle of the set, with the last coming at 16-11.  The Terps soon drew to within one point at 17-16, tied the score at 20-20 and took a 22-21 lead.  The teams traded kills to make the score 23-22 in favor of Maryland.   Bodman tied the score for the sixth time in the set when her kill made it a 23-23 count.  Bodman notched the next point on a kill, as well, to take the Mids to set point.  After a Maryland timeout, Llewellyn dropped in an ace to close the scoring.

Set Three
Navy held a precarious 1-2 point lead for the majority of the set.  It was a 21-20 Navy lead when Ashley Warren and Bodman posted back-to-back kills to stretch the lead to 23-20.  A kill by setter Miller on the ensuing play made it a 24-20 lead and meant the Mids would serve for the match.  The Terps extended play with a kill, but a Maryland service error that just scooted over the end line concluded the 107-minute match.

Statistical Notes
Maryland ended the match with a slightly better hitting percentage than Navy, .226-.206, but the Mids led the Terps in kills, 41-34.

The service line proved to key in the match as the Mids were -7 in serving (five aces, 12 errors) and the Terps were -14 (two aces, 16 errors).

Despite holding a noticeable difference in height between the teams at the net, Maryland held just a 7-5 advantage in blocks.

Llewellyn led all players in the match with 11 kills to barely edge twin sister Jordan Llewellyn's total of nine.  Also, Hannah Hoover scooped up 14 digs and Miller totaled 33 assists, four kills and six digs.

The last time Navy started a season with a 5-1 record was in 2017 when it began the year with a 9-1 record.

Kristen Dickmann Invitational
Today's match was the last one to be played as part of the 12th edition of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational.  The Mids and the Terrapins each defeated Utah Valley and Old Dominion on Friday and Saturday, thereby making today's match an unofficial championship match. 

"We were all thinking of Kristen in the locker room before the match and agreed that she would have loved playing Maryland and the opportunity it presented," said Labrador.  "She would have gone all out during this match, and so would we."

Up Next
Navy will make the program's first trip to California this week when it heads to La Jolla for the UCSD Invitational.  The Mids will face Denver (Friday), UCSD (Friday) and San Diego State (Saturday) during the event.

Kristen Dickmann Invitational Results
Maryland 3, Old Dominion 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17)
Navy 3, Utah Valley 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19)
Old Dominion 3, Utah Valley 2 (25-20, 25-12, 16-25, 23-25, 15-12)
Maryland 3, Utah Valley 1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-8, 27-25)
Navy 3, Old Dominion 1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-14)
Navy 3, Maryland 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-21)