ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Farrah Eike posted kills to end the last two points of a marathon five-set victory by the Navy volleyball team over Lafayette, Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.  The Mids (6-10, 5-5) improved to 4-1 in their last five matches with the 28-30, 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 15-6 victory against the Leopards (4-15, 2-7).

"Credit to Lafayette for executing a nice offense and really locking down their defense," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "We had to fight for every point.  I am proud of our focus and resilience going into set five."

Eike recorded 26 kills on 67 attempts during the 150-minute match, a tally that left her one kill shy of tying her career high for kills –– set last year at Lafayette –– and bettering her previous career high for attempts of 59.

"Farrah is a worker who thrives when she's really involved in the offense," said Labrador.  "She did a great job of staying dialed in."

Set One
Navy used a 5-0 run to take a 10-5 lead and maintained a lead of between three and five points for the majority of the rest of the set.  The Mids soon were in front by the score of 23-20 when Lafayette recorded a block and a kill to make it a 23-22 score.  Eike and Siena Morgan combined on a block to take Navy to set point at 24-22.  

The Leopards quickly erased a pair of chances by the Mids to win the set with back-to-back kills that tied the frame at 24-24.  Navy had another chance to serve for the set following a Lafayette service error (25-24), but a kill by the Leopards tied the score again at 25-25. Lafayette then served for the set following a block, but an Ava Toppin kill tie the score at 26-26.  Toppin committed an attack error, and that was followed by a kill from Anuhea Hauanio-Lore to again tie the proceedings at 27-27.  A Lafayette kill was followed by an Eike kill to record the ninth tie of the frame at 28-28.  The Leopards would win the set after a Navy attack error and a Lafayette service ace.

Navy had more kills than Lafayette in the set, 22-18, but also had 10 attack errors to just three for the Leopards which gave the visitors a .288-.190 advantage in hitting percentage.

Set Two
The second set was very similar to the first in that Navy took an early lead, 12-4, only to see Lafayette battle back late and eventually tie the score at 18-18.  The Mids promptly scored back-to-back points as part of a 5-1 run that gave them a 23-19 lead.  The Leopards again clawed back into the frame and soon the margin was down to one point at 23-22.  After a Navy timeout, Madeline Bildeaux recorded a solo block to take Navy to set point, which it converted on a bad set by the Leopards.

Set Three
The score went back-and-forth in the third set as there were 12 ties and six lead changes.  Lafayette held a 21-20 lead when a kill by Bildeuax tied the score, then a block by the tandem of Toppin and Hauanio-Lore gave Navy a 22-21 lead.  Amara Chambers dropped in her third service ace of the match to push the lead to two points at 23-21 and result in a Lafayette timeout.  The teams traded sideouts to make the score 24-22 Mids.  Navy gave the serve back to the Leopards on a service error, but Eike's eighth kill of the stanza gave the Mids a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set Four
Navy scored four of the first five points of the set but soon found itself trailing by the score of 9-6.  The Mids tied the score at 10-10 only to see the Leopards take a 14-11 lead.  Navy was able to draw to within one point at 16-15, but Lafayette soon built a 20-16 cushion.  The Mids battled back and were able to again close to within one point at 22-21.  A Navy service error gave Lafayette a 23-21 lead, then an ace by the Leopards took them to set point with a 24-21 lead.  A Navy kill was followed by a Lafayette kill, which extended the match to a fifth set.

Set Five
Lafayette won the coin toss and elected to serve to start the abbreviated fifth set.  A Toppin kill put the Mids on the scoreboard first and sent Isa Boyd to the service line.  Her last offering was with Navy holding a 7-0 lead.  She followed Toppin's kill with an ace, then a pair of Lafayette attack errors sandwiched around a kill from Hauanio-Lore led to a Lafayette timeout with the score 5-0.  A Navy block by Toppin and Caroline Buffum was followed by a kill from Eike to close the impressive start.

Lafayette stopped the run with a kill, but a Hauanio-Lore kill, an ace from Hauanio-Lore and a Lafayette attack error boosted the Mids to a 10-1 lead and resulted in a second timeout being called by the Leopards.  Another ace from Hauanio-Lore and another block by Toppin and Buffum extended the lead to 12-1.  

The Leopards were able to winnow the score down to 13-6 before the back-to-back kills from Eike finished the marathon match.

Navy hit .600 (7 kills, 1 error, 10 attempts) and had three aces in the final set.  Conversely, Lafayette had three kills and five attack errors on 14 attempts for a (-).143 hitting percentage.

Statistical Summary
Navy finished with 71 kills and 30 attack errors on 200 attempts for a .205 attack percentage.  Lafayette accrued 57 kills and 26 errors on 188 swings for a .165 hitting night.  The Mids had nine aces and 10 service errors while the Leopards tallied eight aces and an equal number of errors from the service line.  Navy held a slight lead in digs, 86-80, and a wider advantage in blocks, 13-8.

Eike's 26 kills ties her for ninth place at Navy for the most during the rally scoring era while her 67 attempts ties her for sixth during a rally scoring match and seventh in school history (since 1991).  She also scooped up a career-high 16 digs.

Hauanio-Lore had a very productive night of her own with a career-best 15 kills to go along with 10 digs, two aces and two blocks.

"We needed Anu to score some tough balls tonight and she really delivered," said Labrador.  "She's been very intentional with her attack reps this week at practice and it certainly paid off."

Toppin made it three Mids with double figure kills as she tied a career high with 15 and added a .387 hitting percentage, six blocks and three aces.

"Ava was fighting against a Lafayette blocking scheme that was focused on stopping her, yet she still found a way to have an incredibly night," said Labrador.

Navy's two setters, Boyd and Lainey Feighery, each posted a double-double as Boyd totaled 31 assists and 10 digs and Feighery tallied 20 assists and 11 digs.

Leading all of the Navy passers on the night was Chambers with 21 digs, while Bildeaux, who had posted two kills and one block in the two matches in which she has played prior to tonight, finished with six kills and six blocks.

"Madeline is an extremely smart blocker and she did a great job of influencing hitters tonight," said Labrador.

Up Next
Navy will play host to Lehigh Saturday at 7:30 p.m.  The Mountain Hawks lost a five-set match at American Friday night. Read Full Article