ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A match to determine sole possession of second place at the midpoint of the Patriot League season saw Lehigh (13-3, 6-2) make key plays late in each set of their 26-24, 25-21, 25-22 victory over the Navy volleyball team (7-9, 5-3), Sunday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.
"This was a tough loss because we leveled up in a few areas that have been a struggle for us, but we didn't get the result," said Navy head coach
Paco Labrador. "We had a couple of lulls in each set where the Lehigh experience made us pay. Lehigh played like a veteran team.
"There is a lot of the season still to play and we are hungry to get back in the gym and get better."
Set One
Navy held what was the largest lead of the set when a Lehigh attack error gave the Mids an 18-14 lead. A Lehigh kill by the Mountain Hawks sent Mary Massias to the service line. She dropped in several challenging offerings that the Mids couldn't cleanly handle, including an overpass for an easy kill and two service aces, and her last effort was when Lehigh held a 21-18 advantage.
The Mids regained the serve on a kill from
Paige Buzzerio, but gave it right back with a service error. Navy scored on a kill from
Caroline Buffum, then a kill from
Farrah Eike climbed the Mids back to within 22-21. However, another service error doubled the Lehigh lead to 23-21.
A kill by
Ellen Gundlach cut the lead in half, then a Lehigh kill took the Mountain Hawks to set point with a 24-22 lead. Navy erased one of those points with a kill, then a block by the tandem of
Grace Burgoyne and
Avery Maddux tied the frame at 24-24. A third Navy service error within six serves gave Lehigh a third chance to serve for the set, and this time it converted the opportunity with a kill.
Set Two
Lehigh raced out to 5-0 and 8-2 leads at the start of the set. Navy drew to within three points at 8-5, but that would be as close as it would get until a kill and a block made the score 23-21. Back-to-back kills from Lehigh closed out the set.
Set Three
Navy used a 4-0 run to take an 11-8 lead, then the Mids held a 13-10 advantage until Lehigh scored the next five points to take a 15-13 lead. It soon was a 16-15 lead for the Mountain Hawks when they built a 21-16 cushion. Back came the Mids and it quickly was a 21-19 score, but a kill and a block gave Lehigh a 23-19 advantage. The teams traded sideouts (24-20), then a Lehigh service error followed by a kill from Eike made it a 24-22 score. Another Lehigh kill ended the 95-minute match.
Statistical Summary
Lehigh finished with 44 kills and a .198 hitting percentage while Navy accrued 33 kills and a .177 hitting effort. The Mountain Hawks also held a 7-1 lead in aces, though they did finish with 10 service errors to the 8 recorded by the Mids.
Eike led Navy with 8 kills, Gundlach had 7 and Buffum finished with 6. Setter
Kinamoni Jerome and libero
Amara Chambers both grabbed 9 digs, while Maddux recorded 6 blocks.
Up Next
Navy will be home Saturday to face Army in the first match of the second half of the league season.
Patriot League Standings
1. American, 8-0
2. Lehigh, 6-2
3. Navy, 5-3
T4. Army, 4-4
T4. Loyola, 4-4
T6. Holy Cross, 3-5
T6. Colgate, 3-5
T6. Bucknell, 3-5
9. Lafayette, 0-8
