Match Information
Navy (12-12 / 8-7) at Colgate (17-9 / 12-3)
Saturday, Nov. 15 • 4 p.m. / Cotterell Court • Hamilton, N.Y.
Series - Colgate leads, 51-18 / Patriot League Series - Colgate leads, 42-17
Last Match - Colgate, 3-1 (Oct. 10, 2025 / Annapolis, Md.)
Live Video - ESPN+

This Week
•    The 2025 Patriot League regular season comes to an end Saturday with Navy traveling to Hamilton, N.Y., for a 4 p.m. match at Colgate.
•    ESPN+ will stream the match, with a link to that as well as live statistics being found at NavySports.com.

Last Week
•    Navy closed the home portion of the regular season with a split of matches over the weekend.
•    Navy first posted a four-set (25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23) win over Loyola.
•    American would defeat the Mids in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) the following day.

Injury Report
•    Navy is down four starters / key contributors from what was expected at the start of the season.
•    Paige Buzzerio set a career high of 17 kills in Navy's first match of the season, but suffered a knee injury later that same day in the team's second match.
•    Emerson Lionberger played in 19 matches a year ago as freshman, but a shoulder injury curtailed her 2025 season before it started.  She received limited playing time in 23 sets before being shut down.
•    Ellen Gundlach was the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 2 and was averaging over two kills a set on the year before suffering an ankle injury Sept. 26 at American.  She has not returned to the lineup.
•    Julia Humphrey started every match this year and averaged 1.36 kills and 1.03 blocks per set and was hitting .358 before a hip injury from last year ended her season after the Oct. 11 match against Bucknell. 

Tournament Report
•    The field for the Patriot League Tournament is set, with only Navy and Bucknell not knowing where they will play their first round (quarterfinal) round match.
•    A victory by Navy over Colgate, OR a loss by Bucknell at home against Army, OR both Navy and Bucknell having the same result and the teams will meet at Navy on Nov. 18 with the Mids being seeded fourth and the Bison fifth.
•    A loss by Navy and a win by Bucknell sends the teams to Lewisburg, with the Bison seeded fourth and the Mids fifth.
•    American is the No. 1 seed and will play host to the semifinals and final.
•    Colgate is seeded second and, like American, receives a bye into the semifinals.
•    Army is the three seed and the Black Knights will play host to sixth-seeded Lehigh in the first round.

Navy vs. Colgate
•    Colgate has compiled an overall record of 17-9 this season and a Patriot League mark of 12-3.
•    Colgate had won 11 matches in a row, but has posted a 4-4 record in its last eight matches.
•    Four of the last seven matches played by the Raiders have gone five sets.
•    Colgate defeated Navy in four sets (14-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20) on Oct. 10 in Annapolis.

Navy vs. Colgate History    
All - 18-51 (H - 11-18, R - 5-27, N - 2-6)
Div. 1 - 17-50 (H - 11-18, R - 5-27, N - 1-5)
PL - 17-42 (H - 11-17, R - 5-23, N - 1-2)
PLT - 0-8 (H - 0-1, R - 0-4, N - 0-3)

Toppin Lately
•    Ava Toppin is averaging 2.69 kills (113 total) and 1.52 blocks per set (64) and hitting .438 (113-17-219) over the last 10 matches / 42 sets (Oct. 4 at Lafayette through Nov. 9 vs. American).
•    She ranks 52nd nationally with her .374 hitting percentage and is 41st in the country with 116 total blocks (through matches of Wednesday, Nov. 12).
•    Included in this recent span are (sets played):

15 kills, .583 (15-1-24) hit. pct., 11 blocks vs. Bucknell (5)
11 kills, .458 (11-0-24) hit. pct., 11 blocks at Holy Cross (5)
20 kills, .581 (20-2-31) hit. pct., 10 blocks vs. Loyola (4)

First Set Key
•    Navy has compiled a much better match record when it wins the first set than it does when losing the first frame.
•    The Mids have posted a 55-8 record over the last five seasons when winning the first set and an 11-56 record when losing the opening set.

Defense Wins
•    The team winning the digs statistics has had great success in Navy's matches over the last five seasons.
•    Navy has compiled a 47-15 record over this span when it grabs moire digs than its foes and a 16-44 record when it snares fewer digs.

Five-Set Matches
•    Navy played 20 five-set matches during the 2022 (8), 2023 (7) and 2024 (5) seasons.  This includes 16 such matches against Patriot League foes during the regular season.
•    The Mids have played seven five-set matches this year, with five of those being league matches.
•    Navy also played 20 five-set matches during the rally scoring era (since 2001) over the 2005-07 and 2017-19 seasons.
•    The Mids have played 45 five-set matches under Paco Labrador (since 2018).

More Close Sets
•    Navy has played 15 sets this season (7-8 record) in which the final score has been above the 25-point mark in sets one through four and / or 15 points in set five.
•    The Mids played 12 such "overtime" sets all of last season.
•    Navy also has played 29 sets decided by two points this year (17-12 record) after it played 23 during the 2024 campaign.
•    In league matches, Navy has posted records of 20-22 in sets decided by five or fewer points, 8-7 in two-point sets and 2-4 in "overtime" sets.

Starting Lineups
•    Navy has used 17 different starting lineups (including the libero) in its 20 matches this season.
•    16 players have started at least one match this year.

Double-Doubles
•    Arleigh Hanson registered 10 assist / dig double-doubles during the 2024 season.  That tied her for sixth place for the most by a Mid during a rally scoring season.
•    She then posted double-doubles in each of the three matches at the 2025 season-opening Utah Valley Invite and added another one against Gardner-Webb.
•    Her 14 career assist / dig double-doubles ranks eighth in school history.
•    Fellow setters Isa Boyd and Lainey Feighery also have combined for 11 double-doubles this season and 14 in their careers.

Toppin Moving Up Blocks List
•    Ava Toppin is averaging over one block per set this season.  That average has allowed her to improve her standing on Navy's season and career blocks-per-set charts.
•    Her 1.20 blocks-per-set average this season ranks second at Navy overall (since 1995) and first during the rally scoring era.
•    She also ranks second with a 0.97 career blocks per set average.

Farrah as a Freshman in 2024
•    Farrah Eike earned Second-Team All-Patriot League accolades during as a freshman during the 2024 season when she led the Mids in both kills (168) and kills per set (2.67 kps).
•    She became the fifth freshman to lead Navy in both statistical categories on the Division I program and the third to do so during the rally scoring era.
•    Despite playing in just 64 of the team's 97 sets due to nursing an injury at the start of the 2025 season, she still ranks first on the team with an average of 3.13 kills per set and is second on the team to Ava Toppin's 230 kills with 200 of her own.