ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Freshman Farrah Eike's career-best 20th kill of the night closed out a four-set victory by the Navy volleyball team over Lehigh, Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.  The Mids recorded a 22-25, 25-16, 25-23, 31-29 victory over the Mountain Hawks.

It was the third match in a row in which Eike set a new career high for kills.

"The headline stat is obviously Farrah," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "She had a huge night.  I can't say enough about her poise and steady productivity.  But the real story is the performance of the players who were called into the match and changed the game for us.  Doris Nelson, Amara Chambers and Ally Alessio were tremendous when they subbed into the match.

"One of the benefits of having played a variety of lineups this season is the ability to make changes quickly and easily."

Set One
Lehigh used a 4-0 run to take a 10-5 lead and soon expanded the advantage to 14-8.  Navy chipped away at the deficit and was able to close to within two points at 15-13.  The Mountain Hawks soon led by a 19-14 margin but the Mids responded again and made it a one-point difference at 20-19.  Lehigh tallied the next three points to take a 23-19 lead and then reached set point with a 24-20 cushion.  Navy staved off two set points against it before a Lehigh kill ended the stanza.  

Set Two
Navy scored the opening two points of the frame, then Lehigh recorded a sideout.  The Mids went on one of their best runs of the season as scored 10 in a row to take a 12-1 lead on their way to building a 14-2 advantage.

Lehigh was able to make it a five-point difference at 15-10 and 16-11, but four-straight Navy points followed to give the Mids a 20-11 lead.  That was enough of a margin for the Mids to even the match at one set apiece.

Navy, which had registered a 16-14 lead in kills in the first set, posted a 12-6 advantage in the second set.  The Mids also hit .214 in the frame and limited the Mountain Hawks to a (-).147 mark.

Set Three
The Mids took an early 4-1 lead at the start of the set, but after that the score would be tied five times and there were four lead changes.

Navy seemingly was in decent shape as it took a 17-14 lead, but Lehigh scored the next four points to take an 18-17 lead.  The Mids regained the advantage at 20-19, but the Mountain Hawks answered with a 3-0 run to take a 22-20 lead.  The teams traded sideouts (23-21), then a third sideout on a kill from Lilly Lutz made the score 23-22.  Eike posted a kill to tie the score, then she tallied kills on the ensuing two plays to give the Mids a 25-23 win in the set and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Set Four
What would prove to be the final set was similar in form to the previous frame as neither team held any kind of significant lead and each went on a number of little runs.  In all, the score would be tied 14 teams and the lead would be exchanged on four occasions.

Lehigh used a 6-0 run to take a 14-11 lead, then a short while later Navy went on a 6-0 run to take an 18-16 lead.  The Mountain Hawks countered with a 4-0 run (20-18) on their way to taking 22-19 and 23-20 advantages.

The Mids scored the next three points on a kill from Emerson Lionberger, a block by the team of Lionberger and Nelson and a kill from Eike.  That tied the score at 23-23.

A Navy service error took Lehigh to set point with a 24-23 lead.  Eike knocked down a kill to extend play, but the Mountain Hawks notched a kill of their own on the next play to again have set point with a 25-24 lead.  Ave Toppin tied the set on a kill, then posted another kill to give Navy match point at 26-25.  The teams traded the next seven points –– during which time Navy served for the match on three occasions –– then a service error by Lehigh made it eight sideouts in a row and gave the Mids a fourth chance to serve for the match.  This time the Mids converted on the opportunity with Eike's sixth kill of the stanza.

"Kyle Anema and Hallie Cruzen put together a great scouting report and I thought the team executed it well and limited Lehigh's powerful offense and aggressive blocking style," said Labrador.  

Inside the Numbers
Navy led Lehigh in kills (61-48) and hitting percentage (.189-.132).  In the last three sets, the Mids led the Mountain Hawks 45-34 in kills and .204-.087 in hitting percentage.

Eike's 20 kills are the most by a Mid this season.  She posted 16 of her kills in the last three sets, during which time she hit .273.  Eike previously posted nine kills in three sets of playing time last Friday at Army, then recorded 12 kills the next day at Colgate.

Toppin recorded 11 kills and five blocks and Lutz posted 10 kills.  Defensively, Hannah Hoover snared 21 digs, Anuhea Hauanio-Lore grabbed 13 digs and Grace Burgoyne finished with five blocks.

Additionally, setter Arleigh Hanson posted another double-double with 31 assists and 11 digs. 

"Our middles played a great match and scored when we needed points," said Labrador.  "We are looking forward to carrying this momentum into tomorrow's match."

Up Next
Navy will play host to Bucknell Saturday at 4 p.m.