Match Information
No. 5 Navy (13-13 / 8-8) at No. 1 American (22-4 / 15-1)
Patriot League Tournament Semifinal
Friday, Nov. 21 • 6:30 p.m. / Bender Arena • Washington, D.C.
Series - American leads, 57-20-1 / Patriot League Tournament Series - American leads, 5-2
Last Match - American, 3-0 (Nov. 9, 2025 / Annapolis, Md.)
Live Video - ESPN+

This Week
•    The Navy volleyball team makes the short drive to Washington, D.C., for a Friday night match at American in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.
•    The fifth-seeded Mids will play the top-seeded Eagles at 6:30 p.m. at Bender Arena.
•    The first semifinal match pits No. 2 Colgate vs. No. 3 Army at 3 p.m.
•    The semifinal winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. in the championship match.
•    ESPN+ will stream the match, with a link to that as well as live statistics being found at NavySports.com.

Service Assignments Announced
•    Seniors at the USNA learn of their initial service assignment for their Navy or Marine Corps careers Thursday during lunch.
•    Each of the four Navy volleyball players received their first choice of assignment:

Lainey Feighery - Navy / aviation (pilot)
Anuhea Hananio-Lore - Navy / aviation (pilot)
Julia Humphrey - Navy / supply corps
Ava Toppin - Marine Corps / ground

Toppin and Eike Named to All-League Teams
•    Ava Toppin and Farrah Eike were Navy selections to the All-Patriot League teams announced earlier this week.
•    Toppin earned a first-team nod in what was the first time she has received postseason accolades from the league.
•    Eike was named to the league's second team for the second year in a row.

Program History
•    The 2025 campaign is Navy's 49th as a varsity program.  
•    The Mids played the 1976 season –– the first year women were admitted to the USNA –– as a junior varsity team, with 1977 being the first varsity season.
•    Navy then competed on the AIAW / NCAA Division II level from 1977-90.  The Mids compiled a 377-211-6 record in those 14 seasons and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1987 and '88.
•    Navy was elevated to the Division I level with the 1991 season, which coincided with it joining the Patriot League.

Last Match
•    Navy rallied from a 2-1 deficit in sets to defeat fourth-seeded Bucknell in five sets Tuesday night in the first round of the postseason.

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 made her first appearance in six weeks when she briefly played Nov. 15 at Colgate in the last match of the regular season.
•    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. 
•    Additionally, Ally Alessio and Isa Boyd have missed the last several matches.

Navy Tournament History
•    Navy is appearing in the Patriot League Tournament for the 21st time and enters Friday's match with a 20-22 record in the postseason.
•    The first round (quarterfinal) was instituted with the 2019 tournament, though it was not held during the spring of 2021 season (played in place of the 2020 fall season due to COVID).
•    Navy has now posted a 5-0 record in the round.  This includes a trio road wins by the No. 6 Mids over No. 3 Army in 2021, by No. 5 Navy over No. 4 Bucknell in 2023 and Tuesday's win by No. 5 Navy at No. 5 Bucknell.
•    Navy has advanced to at least the semifinal round 17 times, including six times under head coach Paco Labrador, and made five trips to the championship match (twice under Labrador).
•    Navy has posted a 2-5 record against American in postseason matches.

Navy vs. American in Patriot League Tournament
2004 / SF - at American, 3-0
2007 / SF - at American, 3-0
2016 / SF - at  American, 3-0
2017 / F - at American, 3-0
2018 / F - Navy, 3-2 (at American)
2019 / SF - at American, 3-1
2022 / 1st Rd. - at Navy, 3-1

American Preview
•    American enters the week having won its last 15 matches, with an overall record of 22-4 and a league mark of 15-1.
•    The Eagles have posted a set record of 45-5 in winning those 15 matches.  Only once in that span has a team gone to five sets with American.
•    Navy head coach Paco Labrador has accounted for seven of the program's eight victories over the Eagles since the Mids joined the Division I ranks in 1991.

Navy vs. American History    
All - 20-57-1 (H - 11-26, R - 5-29, N - 4-2-1)
Div. 1 - 8-53 (H - 4-24, R - 4-29, N - 0-0)
PL - 6-44 (H - 3-22, R - 3-22, N - 0-0)
PLT - 2-5 (H - 1-0, R - 1-5, N - 0-0)

Toppin Lately
•    Ava Toppin is averaging 2.29 kills (122 total) and 1.49 blocks per set (76) and hitting .398 (122-24-246) over the last 12 matches / 51 sets (Oct. 4 at Lafayette through Nov. 18 at Bucknell).
•    She ranks 78th nationally with her .359 hitting percentage, 31st in the country with 128 total blocks and 68th in the NCAA with an average of 1.21 blocks per set (through matches of Wednesday, Nov. 19).
•    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)

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 eight five-set matches this year, with five of those being league matches and another one coming in the league tournament.
• The Navy record for the most five-set matches in a season is nine (1995, 2005)
•    The Mids have played 46 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 19 different starting lineups (including the libero) in its 26 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 has recorded five double-doubles this season to bring her career total to 15.
•    Her 15 career assist / dig double-doubles ranks eighth in school history.
•    Fellow setters Isa Boyd and Lainey Feighery also have combined for 12 double-doubles this season and 15 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.

Single-Season Blocks Per Set (Since 1995)
1.    1.24    Megan O'Connell, 1997
2.    1.21    Ava Toppin, 2025
3.    1.18    Jen Williams, 1996

Single-Season Blocks Per Set - Rally Scoring Era
1.    1.21    Ava Toppin, 2025
2.    1.17    Katie Patrick, 2017
3.    1.14    Megan Boyd, 2005

Career Blocks Per Set (Since 1995)
1.    1.00    Katie Patrick, 2015-18
2.    0.98    Ava Toppin, 2022-pres.
3.    0.96    Megan Boyd, 2003-06

Career Blocks Per Set - Rally Scoring Era
1.    1.00    Katie Patrick, 2015-18
2.    0.98    Ava Toppin, 2022-pres.
3.    0.96    Megan Boyd, 2003-06

Toppin Among Hitting Pct. Leaders
•    Ava Toppin's hitting percentage this year ranks second at Navy for the best in a season.

Single-Season Hitting Pct - Overall
1.    .361    Katie Schullian, 1991
2.    .359    Ava Toppin, 2025
3.    .356    Anna Klemeyer, 2023

•    Her mark also is the best in a season among rally scoring players.

Single-Season Hitting Pct - Rally Scoring Era
1.    .359    Ava Toppin, 2025
2.    .356    Anna Klemeyer, 2023

•    She also ranks second at Navy with her career hitting percentage of .316.

Career Hitting Pct - Overall
1.    .346    Katie Patrick, 2015-18
2.    .316    Ava Toppin, 2022-pres.
3.    .298    Anna Klemeyer, 2020/21-23

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.

Freshmen to Lead Navy in Kills and Kills Per Set (Since 1991)
1992 - Jennifer Meininger
1996 - Rachel Shropa
2001 - Ashley Van Hartesvelt
2010 - Erin Fortner
2024 - Farrah Eike

•    Despite playing in just 73 of the team's 106 sets due to nursing an injury at the start of the 2025 season, she still ranks first on the team with an average of 3.10 kills per set and is second on the team to Ava Toppin's 239 kills with 226 of her own.
•    Eike tallied 26 kills in Navy's Oct. 24 five-set win over Lafayette.  The 26 kills –– on 67 attempts –– left her one shy of tying her personal high of 27.
•    Also, 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.