ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Ava Toppin continued her high level of play of late with a 20-kill, 10-block performance during a four-set victory by the Navy volleyball team (12-11, 8-6) over Loyola (6-18, 4-11), Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.  Toppin posted a .581 hitting percentage in recording a new career high for kills and tallying double-digit blocks for the second time in three matches.

"Ava was locked in today," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "She has been a scorer for us all season, but thanks to our passers we were able to keep her involved in the offense all match long.  It is rare to see a middle hitter lead a team in attempts, but she is physical enough to handle the load."

Set One
Navy jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led by as many as eight points at 19-11 and 20-12 before Loyola closed late to within 24-20.  

Toppin posted seven kills and no attack errors on nine attempts in the set.

Set Two
The Mids again had a good start to the set as they built several five-point leads between 9-4 and 13-8.  The Greyhounds answered and made it a two-point margin at 14-12, 15-13, 16-14, 17-15 and 18-16.  A Navy kill accounted for the ninth-straight sideout, then a solo block by Anuhea Hauanio-Lore stretched the cushion to 20-16.  That was followed by a Loyola attack error that gave the Mids some breathing room with a 21-16 lead.

The Greyhounds cut into what was a 23-17 lead by the Mids with three-straight points, but a kill by Caroline Buffum and a block by the tandem of Toppin and Lainey Feighery gave Navy the 2-0 lead in sets.

Set Three
Navy was able to take several three-point leads in the early stages of the set, but Loyola used a 4-0 run to take an 11-10 lead.  The score would be tied at 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, then the Greyhounds scored the next five points to take a 20-15 advantage.  A service error briefly stalled the run, only to see it start again with Loyola scoring the next three points to take a 23-16 advantage.  That was enough of a lead for the Greyhounds to extend the match to a fourth set.

Set Four
What proved to be the final frame saw the score tied 12 times and the lead change hands on three occasions.

Loyola scored four-straight points to take a 17-13 lead only to see Navy score the next four points to tie the score at 17-17.  The score would again be tied at 18, 19, 20 and 21.  

A Loyola attack error gave the Mids a 22-21 lead, then an ace by Buffum on her first serve of the match doubled the margin to two points at 23-21.  That was followed by a timeout from the Greyhounds.  When play resumed, Toppin and Hauanio-Lore combined for a block to take the Mids to match point with a 24-21 lead.  

Buffum committed a service error, then a kill by the Greyhounds drew them to within 24-23 and caused Labrador to call timeout.  The Mids finished the match with a kill by Hauanio-Lore on the ensuing point.

Statistical Summary
Most of the statistics between the teams were fairly even.  Navy totaled 54 kills, five aces, 11 service errors, 36 digs and 12.0 blocks.  Loyola tallied 52 kills, five aces, 13 service errors, 35 digs and 9.0 blocks.  The one noticeable margin was in hitting percentage as the Mids hit .305 and the Greyhounds .254.

Toppin's 20 kills bettered her previous career high of 15, which was set two weeks ago in a five-set match against Lafayette.  She totaled those 20 kills against just two errors on 31 attempts to reach double figures in kills for the seventh match in a row and the 10th time in the last 11 matches.  

Buffum also had a productive afternoon with 12 kills while Hauanio-Lore contributed six kills, six digs, four blocks and two aces.

Playoff Outlook
Navy and Bucknell will face each other on Nov. 18 in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.  Navy currently has posted an 8-6 record in league matches and Bucknell has compiled a 7-8 record.  The Mids defeated the Bison in both matches this season to earn the tiebreaker.

If Navy beats American Sunday (2 p.m. in Annapolis) or wins Saturday, Nov. 15 at Colgate, or if Bucknell loses at home to Army next Saturday, the Mids will be the No. 4 seed and the Bison will be the No. 5 seed.  Should Navy lose both matches and Bucknell beats Army, then the Bison will be seeded fourth and the Mids fifth.

The No. 4 seed will play host to the No. 5 seed in the postseason.

"We have a quick turnaround to face an first-place American team that was off today Sunday in our Senior Day match," said Labrador.  "We are excited to honor this tremendous senior class before the match."