Match Information
Navy (1-5) at Old Dominion (2-4) • Fri., Sept. 11 • 6 p.m.
ODU Volleyball Center • Norfolk, Va.
Series - Old Dominion leads, 2-1
Last Match - Old Dominion, 3-0 / Sept. 14, 2024; Fairfax, Va.
Live Video - ESPN+

Navy (1-5) vs. UMES (1-5) • Sat., Sept. 12 • 2 p.m.
ODU Volleyball Center • Norfolk, Va.
Series - Navy leads, 16-4 
Last Match - Navy, 3-1 / Sept.14, 2018; Denver, Colo.
Live Video - None

Match Information
•    Navy closes its brief three weeks of non-league play with a trip to Norfolk, Va., to take part in the Monarch Invitational hosted by Old Dominion.  The Mids (1-5) will play the host Monarchs (2-4) Friday at 6 p.m. and then UMES (1-5) Saturday at 2 p.m.
*    Live statistics will be available for both matches through NavySports.com, with the web site also having an ESPN+ link for Friday's match.

Last Week
•    Navy played host to the Kristen Dickmann Invitational last weekend in Annapolis.
•    The Mids opened the tournament with a four-set (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23) win over Coppin State.
•    Farrah Eike led Navy with 15 kills while adding 9 digs and 5 blocks.
•    Grace Burgoyne added 8 blocks as the Mids finished with 11 as a team.
•    Navy then dropped a four-set decision (25-21, 23-25, 29-27, 25-21) to Penn.
•    The Quakers finished with just one more kill than Navy (61-60), but the Mids had seven more attack errors (25-18) and the Quakers held a 73-62 edge in digs.
•    Eike was one of four Mids to post at least 10 kills.  She registered 18 and also snared 12 digs.
•    Amara Chambers scooped up 24 digs.
•    Stony Brook posted a three-set win (25-16, 25-20, 25-22) over Navy in the weekend's final match.
•    Navy was held to 24 kills and a .075 attack percentage.

Old Dominion Preview
•    Old Dominion has dropped a pair of five-set matches to USC Upstate and Winthrop and also lost in three sets to Virginia Tech this season.  The team's two wins have come in five sets against St. John's and in three sets over Norfolk State.
•    The Monarchs ended the 2025 season with an overall record of 5-20.  Old Dominion compiled a 2-12 record against Sun Belt Conference foes and placed seventh in the conference's seven-team East Division with a 1-11 record.
•    Old Dominion finished in seventh place in the East Division of the 2026 eight-team SBC Preseason Poll.
•    Navy and Old Dominion did not face each other until the 2022 season.  Friday will be the fourth meeting of the teams in the last five seasons.
•    ODU holds a 2-1 edge in the series.  The Monarchs won the inaugural match in 2022 in Norfolk, the Mids evened the series in 2023 with a victory on The Yard and ODU posted a three-set victory in 2024 when the teams met at George Mason.
•    Navy has compiled a 5-17 record against current teams in the Sun Belt Conference, which includes a 3-8 record as a Division I program (since 1991).

UMES Preview
•    UMES enters Saturday's match against Navy (UMES will play ODU on Sunday) with a victory over Mississippi Valley State and losses to, among other teams, Maryland (3 sets) and George Mason (4 sets).
•    UMES tallied a 12-18 overall recored a year ago and finished in a tie for fourth place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 7-7 record.
•    The Hawks placed fifth in the 2026 eight-team MEAC Preseason Poll.
•    Navy leads the series by the count of 16-4, which includes an 11-4 advantage in matches played during Navy's Division I era.
•    Navy has won the last three matches in the series, with those occurring in 2010, 2011 and 2021.
•    Navy has compiled a 96-15 record against teams in the MEAC, with a 64-15 record as a Division I program.  The Mids won a four-set match over Coppin State last week.

Next for Navy
•    Navy begins Patriot League play with matches Sept. 18 at Colgate and Sept. 19 at Holy Cross.

Jacobus Sets Freshman Kills Mark
•    Freshman Hailey Jacobus registered 21 kills in Navy's season-opening five-set loss to Indiana State.
•    Those are the most kills by a Navy freshman in a season-opening match dating back to when box scores were first available starting with the 1994 season.

Boyd Named to WM All-Tourney Team
•    Isa Boyd was named to the all-tournament team at the Western Michigan Invite.  
•    She dished out an average of 4.73 assists (52 total) and ranked second on the team to libero Amara Chambers with an average of 2.09 digs per set (23).

Eike Named to KDI All-Tourney Team
•    Farrah Eike was Navy's representative on the Kristen Dickmann Invite all-tournament team.
•    The outside hitter averaged 3.82 kills (42 total) to lead the team and also ranked second to Navy's libero with an average of 2.36 digs per set (26).
•    She recorded 15 kills, 9 digs and 5 blocks in four sets against Coppin State and then added 18 kills and 12 digs in four sets against Penn.

5-Set Matches
•    It made sense that Navy's season-opening match against Indiana State was extended to five sets.
•    Navy's 2025 season opener against Boise State also was a five-set match.
•    The Mids played eight five setters in 2025, which was one away from tying the school record for the most in a Division I season (since 1991).
•    Navy has now played 29 five-set matches since the start of the 2022 season.

Many Lineups
•    Navy used 20 different starting lineups (including the libero) during the 2025 season.
•    The Mids have used five different starting lineups through six matches.

2026 Navy Season Information
•    Navy returns two starters plus the libero, eight letter winners and 11 players from the 2025 team that compiled an overall record of 13-14 and finished in fifth place in the Patriot League regular season with an 8-8 record.  Navy won a four-set road Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal round match at Bucknell to advance to the semifinal round where it fell to top-seeded and eventual-champion American.
•    The Mids used 20 different starting lineups during the 2025 season, with players who totaled 73 starts back this season.
•    The list of returners includes eight players who started at least five matches, plus Amara Chambers who was the libero in 24 matches.
•    Back for the Mids are the team's top-two attackers from last season in Farrah Eike (2.99 kps) and Caroline Buffum (2.43 kps).  
•    Chambers paced Navy with 32 aces and 350 digs a year ago, with setter Isa Boyd back after she dished out a team-best 394 assists and rankling second to Chambers with 28 aces.
•    2026 team captain Grace Burgoyne ranked third on the team in 2025 with 56 blocks.  She leads all returning players in that statistic.
•    Eight freshmen and nine new players round out the roster.
•    Navy has advanced to at least the semifinal round of the tournament in six of the seven years under head coach Paco Labrador in which the full season was played.
•    The Mids placed fifth in the 2026 nine-team Patriot League Preseason Poll of head coaches.

Half Century
•    The 2026 season is the 50th varsity season for the Navy volleyball team and 51st season as a program.
•    The program competed on the junior varsity level in 1976 and then was elevated to varsity status starting with the 1977 season.
•    The Mids competed on the AIAW / NCAA Division II levels for 14 seasons from 1977 through 1990.  
•    Navy entered the NCAA Division I ranks in 1991, which was the same year it joined the Patriot League.