BALTIMORE, Md. -- Loyola rallied to win the last two sets to outlast the Navy volleyball team in five sets, Saturday evening at Reitz Arena in Baltimore.  The Greyhounds (4-8, 2-1) defeated the Mids (5-8, 1-3), 25-21, 25-27, 21-25, 26-24, 18-16, in a match lasting two hours and 32 minutes.

Loyola scored 115 points on the night and Navy scored 113 points.  

It was a typical close Navy-Loyola match.  The match was tied 32 times and the lead changed hands on 13 occasions.  Including tonight, six of the last 12 matches between the teams have been extended to five sets.  The teams have played 52 sets against one another during this span.  Of those 52 sets, 16 have been decided by two points, 22 have been determined by no more than three points and 34 have been decided by five or fewer points.

"Credit Loyola's left-side hitters," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "They really found kills late in the match and that was the difference.  They also ran their middles quite a bit and they were extremely efficient."

Set One
Navy turned a slim 12-11 lead into a 19-13 advantage only to see Loyola score 12 of the next 13 points to take a 23-20 lead.  The Greyhounds soon took a 1-0 lead.

Set Two
The largest lead for either team was three points and those occurred when Navy led 3-0 and Loyola was in front 12-9.  The score would be tied at 16-17-18-20-21-22 and then again at 23.  A Navy attack error took Loyola to set point with a 24-23 lead, but Ava Toppin answered with a kill to tie the score again.  Another Loyola kill was followed by a kill from Anuhea Hauanio-Lore to make the score 25-24.  Farrah Eike posted a kill to give the Mids the chance to serve for the set.  They converted that chance on an Eike block.

Set Three
Navy never trailed in the set and once it took a 3-0 lead it never allowed Loyola to tie the score. The Mids built leads of 9-4, 13-5 and 15-7.  It soon became a 20-12 Navy lead and then a 23-17 cushion before the Greyhounds made it a 23-20 score.  Siena Morgan posted a kill to take Navy to set point.  Loyola extended the frame on a kill, but Eike closed the stanza with a kill of her own.

Loyola raced out to a 7-0 lead at the start of the fourth set and soon led 15-8.  Navy battled back and closed to within one point at 16-15 before a 7-0 run gave the Mids a 23-20 lead.  A Navy service error gave Loyola the serve down 23-21.  A Navy attack error made it 23-22, then a Loyola kill tied the score at 23-23.  Eike posted a kill to give the Mids a serve for the match.  A Navy attack error tied the score, then back-to-back kills sent the match to a fifth set.

Set Five
The score was tied seven times and the lead was exchanged three times.

Navy scored the first three points of the abbreviated frame, then the score was tied at 4-4 and 5-5.  Loyola gained three-point leads of 8-6, 9-6, 10-7 and 11-8.  The Mids tied the score at 12-12, then it was tied again at 13-13.  Loyola had a chance to serve for the match with a 14-13 lead, then Toppin tallied a kill to tie the set at 14-14.  A Navy block gave the Mids a serve for the match, but the Greyhounds extended play with a kill that tied the score at 15-15 and took a 16-15 lead with a kill.

An Eike kill erased that chance for Loyola to win the match.  A Navy attack error gave the Greyhounds another serve for the contest, and this time a kill gave Loyola the victory.

Statistical Summary
As to be expected in a close match, most statistics between the teams were very close.  Loyola slightly led in kills (71-68) and hitting percentage (.214-.192), Navy held a 9-7 lead in aces, Loyola had 102 digs to better Navy's total of 101 and the Mids had 13 blocks to 8 for the Greyhounds.

Eike led the Mids with 14 kills, with Toppin finishing with 13 and Caroline Buffum posting 11.  Isa Boyd finished with 35 assists, snared 14 digs and dropped in a team-best three aces.  

"I can't say enough about Isa's impact on the match," said Labrador. "She's a true competitor and made a huge difference for us."

Leading the Navy passers was Amara Chambers with 24 digs.  Hauanio-Lore grabbed 18 digs, Ally Alessio snared 16 and Baylee Doolan had 10.  Toppin and Julia Humphrey each finished with five blocks.

"It's great to see another freshman step up to the challenge and play elite level volleyball," said Labrador.  Siena hit for the highest percentage we have seen in a long time (6 kills, 0 errors, 9 attempts, .667 hitting pct.).  And she blocked well (2 block assists).  I'm excited to see her continue to bring her athleticism and point scoring ability to the floor."

Up Next
Navy heads to the Lehigh Valley for matches Friday at Lehigh and Saturday at Lafayette.