ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A balanced offense and defense allowed Army to rally after dropping the first set of the match to defeat the Navy volleyball team in four sets, Friday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Black Knights (7-3, 1-0) defeated the Mids (4-6, 0-1), 23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-22, to win the annual Star Match, part of the Army-Navy Star Series, between the programs.

Army had five players reach double figures in kills and five grab 10 or more digs. 

"We left it all on the floor tonight and that's all I will ever ask," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "This is a resilient team and this is the first match of a long Patriot League season.

"Even though the outcome wasn't what we hoped, the entire Navy volleyball program is in awe of the environment the Brigade and the Annapolis community generated for us tonight.  There's no place in the country that has a better crowd than we do.  The entire USNA community rallied around us this week.  The support we provide for each other here is inspiring."

Set One
Navy jumped out to a 6-1 lead and maintained the advantage until Army used a 3-0 run to take a 10-9 lead.  The score would be tied at each point from 11 through 15, then the Mids ran off the ensuing four points to take a 19-15 advantage.  Back came the Black Knights and the score would be tied at 20-20 and again at 21-21.  

Farrah Eike knocked down a kill, then an Army attack error on the next play gave Navy a 23-21 lead.  The margin grew to 24-21 when Ally Alessio dropped in an ace.  The Mids had set point at 24-21, 24-22 and 24-23, then a service error by the Black Knights ended the opening frame.

Set Two
Neither team held any advantage over the other in the early part of the set, then Army took an 11-6 lead.  Navy battled and soon it was an 11-9 score, but the Black Knights soon extended their cushion to 16-10.  The Mids could only close to within three points at 17-14 before Army took a 24-17 lead to claim the set.

Set Three
Army quickly took control of the frame by scoring eight of the first nine points.  Navy winnowed the deficit down to four points on three occasions, but then the Black Knights went on a 5-0 run to build a 17-8 lead on their way to taking a 2-1 advantage in sets.

Set Four
The score would be tied 12 times and the lead changed hands six times.

Army held two-point leads at 17-15 and 18-16, then a 3-0 spurt by Navy gave it a 19-18 lead.  Army answered with a 3-0 run to regain a 21-19 lead.  A kill by Grace Burgoyne and a block by the tandem of Burgoyne and Ava Toppin tied the score at 21-21.

The Black Knights broke the tie with a kill, then took a 23-21 lead on a service ace.  Toppin shaved the lead in half with a kill (23-22), then a Navy attack error took Army to match point (24-22).  A kill by the Black Knights ended the two-plus hour match.

Statistical Summary
The teams had a nearly identical hitting percentage in set one –– Army .195; Navy, .194 –– but the Black Knights outhit the Mids .286-.129 over sets two and three.  Navy totaled a .179 hitting percentage in the final set to slightly better Army's mark of .167.  The Black Knights registered 61 kills and .231 hitting percentage in the match while the Mids totaled 43 kills and hit .163.

Army also tallied eight aces and nine service errors while Navy recorded four aces and five errors.

Toppin led Navy with nine kills while Julia Humphrey and Anuhea Hauanio-Lore each had seven kills.  Amara Chambers had 15 digs to lead the Mids and be the only player on the team to tally double digit digs.

"Ava and Julia played their hearts out and carried us offensively even when Army keyed on them," said Labrador.  "Caroline Buffum scored some clutch points and handled the intensity of the match really well."

Up Next
Navy will be back in the Wesley A. Brown Field House Saturday at 4 p.m. for a match against Holy Cross.

"We are looking forward o using this match to move forward into the match tomorrow against Holy Cross," said Labrador.