Match Information
Lehigh at Navy
Friday, Oct. 4 • 7 p.m.
Wesley A. Brown Field House • Annapolis, Md.
Last Match - Navy, 3-1 (Nov. 9, 2023 / Annapolis, Md.)
Live Video - ESPN+

Bucknell at Navy
Saturday, Oct. 5 • 4 p.m.
Wesley A. Brown Field House • Annapolis, Md.
Last Match - Navy, 3-0 (Nov. 14, 2023 / Lewisburg, Pa.)
Live Video - ESPN+

The Weekend Advance
•    The Navy volleyball team returns home this week for a pair of matches in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.  The Mids will play host to Lehigh Friday at 7 p.m. and Bucknell Saturday at 4 p.m.
•    The Bison will play Friday at American prior to taking on the Mids Saturday.
•    Links to the ESPN+ stream of and live statistics from the matches can be found on NavySports.com.

Last Weekend
•    Navy went on the road last week to New York State for a pair of matches.  
•    The Mids lost a five-set Star Match at Army on Friday (25-19, 25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 17-15) and then a three-set decision at Colgate on Saturday (25-20, 25-19, 25-15).

Accessing the USNA
•     Vehicle access to the USNA is limited to those with an approved ID card.  All others must park outside of the USNA.
•     On Friday and Saturday, the free fan shuttle bus service will depart from and return to the Blue Angel jet at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (gate 5, 550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis, MD, 21401).  There is a $10 fee to park.
•    The shuttle bus begins running one hour prior to the first match of the day and ends four hours after the start of the last match.
•    Fans also can park downtown and walk through the gate one visitors center (52 King George St., Annapolis, MD, 21402).
•    Those ages 18 and over must have a government issued photo identification card, such as a driver's license, and visitors ages 17 and under who do not have a valid photo ID must be accompanied by an adult.

New Faces
•    Navy has used 11 starting lineups in its 13 matches, with 15 players starting at least one match.
•    Navy has had nine players make the first start of their respective careers this season.
•    Nine returning players have started more matches this season than they had in their careers entering 2024.
•    Navy had five players record the first kills of their respective careers during the Wake Forest Invite.
•    Among returning players, seven have already recorded more kills this season than they had in their careers prior to the start of this year.

5-Set Matches
•    Navy played 15 five-set matches over the course of the 2022 (8) and 2023 (7) seasons.
•    For an additional comparison, the Mids played 18 five-set matches in the previous four seasons (2018-21).
•    Navy has already played three five-set matches in 2024 to bring its total to 18 over the last three years.

Navy in Wes B.
•    The Wesley A. Brown Field House has served as the primary home for the Navy volleyball team since the start of the 2008 season.
•    The Mids have compiled an 87-77 record in the facility, which includes a 38-22 record under head coach Paco Labrador.  
•    Additionally, Navy has registered a 69-45 record in league regular season matches in the field house.  The Mids have posted a 30-12 league regular season record under Labrador in the building.
•    The late Lt. Cmdr. Wesley A. Brown ('49) was the first African-American graduate of the USNA.

Lehigh Preview
•     Lehigh has posted an overall record of 9-5 this season and has split its four prior Patriot League matches.
•    The Mountain Hawks began the league season with a five-set win over Army, then lost in four sets to Colgate.
•    Last week saw Lehigh win a three-set match over Lafayette and lose in four sets at Bucknell in what was the team's first road match of the league campaign.
•    The home team won both 2023 meetings between Navy and Lehigh.  The Mountain Hawks recorded a five-set win (17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-25, 15-7) in Grace Hall and the Mids posted a four-set victory (30-28, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16) in the Wesley A. Brown Field House.
•    Three of the last six and six of the last 14 matches in the series have gone five sets.
•    Navy players are lacking in experience in Navy-Lehigh matches compared to the Lehigh players.
•    The Mids have totaled 44 sets played, three kills, 19 attempts, 10 aces and two blocks against the Mountain Hawks.
•    Lehigh's roster has tallied 141 sets played, 182 kills, 488 attempts, 17 aces and 67 blocks against Navy.

Bucknell Preview
•    The Bison will play Friday at American prior to their Saturday match in Annapolis.
•    Bucknell enters the trip with an overall record of 12-1 and a league mark of 4-0.  The lone loss for the team this season was a season-opening four-set loss against Toledo.
•    The Bison have posted league wins over Holy Cross (three sets), Army (four sets), Lafayette (three sets) and Lehigh (four sets).
•    Friday's match at American is Bucknell's first road match of the league season.
•    The Mids and the Bison split the two regular season meetings during the 2023 season.  Navy won in five sets (25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-8) in Annapolis and Bucknell won a four-set decision (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 25-19) in Lewisburg.
•    The Mids then registered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) win over the Bison in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal round match played at Bucknell.
•     Bucknell's current players have more match experience against Navy than the Mids do against the Bison.
•    Bucknell players have totaled 37 matches and 177 sets played against the Mids.  In that time, the Bison have amassed 123 kills, 420 attempts, 25 aces, 251 digs and 48 blocks against Navy.
•    In contrast, the Mids have accrued 27 matches and 85 sets played against Bucknell, along with 32 kills, 97 attempts, 10 aces, 126 digs and 27 blocks.

Hoover Rises on Digs Lists
•     Hannah Hoover is closing in on becoming the seventh Navy player during the program's Division I era and the fifth during the rally scoring era to grab 1,000 career digs.  She enters the weekend with 942 digs.
•    The last Mids to accrue 1,000 career digs were record holder Sydney Shearn (1,708) and setter Patricia Mattingly (1,104) in 2018.
•    She has moved into ninth place on Navy's career digs list –– is 1 dig out of a tie for eighth place –– and fifth place during the rally scoring era.
•    Hoover had been Navy's starting libero in 65-straight matches until she was unable to play Sept. 28 at Colgate due to an injury that limited her to two sets at Army the night before.  The last time she was not Navy's libero was August 26, 2022, when the Mids played at Maryland.
•     Hoover snared 36 digs in Navy's five-set match at Loyola on Sept. 22.
•    Her total ranks second among Mids for the most digs in a match in Division I history (since 1991).
•    It also is currently tied for fifth place for the most by a player in a five-set match in the NCAA this season.

Up Next
•     Navy takes to the road next week for the team's only matches away from Annapolis in the month of October.  The Mids will play Friday at Holy Cross (6 p.m.) and Saturday at Lafayette (6 p.m.).