WORCESTER, Mass. -- Farrah Eike knocked down 13 kills and Hannah Hoover grabbed 16 digs in a three-set victory by the Navy volleyball team over Holy Cross, Friday night at George Blaney Gym in Worcester, Mass.  The Mids registered a 25-23, 25-16, 25-20 win over the Crusaders.

"We had a good practice week this week and I saw each player on the floor doing something tonight that they had worked on during the week," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "Our serving and passing were much cleaner today, which led to a good distribution of kills for our attackers."

Set One
The opening set was close from start to finish.  The score was tied 16 times with the last coming when the Mids scored to tie the score at 20-20.  An ace by Ally Alessio gave the Mids the lead, then back-to-back Holy Cross attack errors pushed the margin to 23-20.  A Holy Cross kill followed by a service error by the Crusaders took the Mids to set point with a 24-21 lead.  Holy Cross staved off two points with a block and an ace, but a block by the tandem of Julia Humphrey and Arleigh Hanson gave Navy the win.

Set Two
The frame was again close at the start as the score was tied at 7-7.  The Mids scored the next three and eight of the next nine points to open a 15-8 advantage.  Navy soon took a 19-10 lead.  Holy Cross made it six-point differences several times, with the last coming at 22-16, before the Mids were able to close out the set.

Set Three
Navy scored the first four points of the set only to see Holy Cross take a 6-5 lead.  The Mids soon held an 11-10 lead when a 5-0 run gave them a 16-10 advantage.  Holy Cross drew to within three points at 16-13 and 17-14 and 19-16 and then made it a two-point margin at 20-18.  Eike posted a kill and then Lilly Lutz followed with a kill to stretch the Navy lead to 22-18.  After a Holy Cross timeout, Alessio registered another ace to make it a 23-18 lead and give the Mids enough of a cushion to win the set and the match.

Inside the Numbers
Each team posted 12 kills in the first set, but Navy held a 25-16 advantage in kills over the last two frames.  That effort in the two sets helped the Mids to an overall .181-.064 lead in hitting percentage.  The remainder of the team stats were very even across the box score.

Eike has now posted 51 kills in the last four matches (13 sets) for an average of 3.92 kills per set.  She had totaled 26 kills in her first nine matches of the season prior to this current run.

"Farrah is finding more was to score with each match," said Labrador.  "Holy Cross overloaded their blocking to her and she did a great job of evolving through the match."

Hoover's 16 digs paced the Navy defense, with setter Arleigh Hanson recording her fourth double-double in the last six matches with 14 assists and 12 digs.  While those two aided Navy's back row efforts, Humphrey finished with six blocks in the front row.

"Julia had a strong blocking and attacking night (six kills)," said Labrador.  "We are just scratching the surface of what she can do offensively."

Up Next
Navy remains on the road for a Saturday match at Lafayette.  First serve is slated for 6 p.m.  The match will be streamed through YouTube.