ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Penn fought off a set point against it in a pivotal third set to take a 2-1 lead and eventually post a four-set victory over the Navy volleyball team, Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Quakers (2-1) recorded a 25-21, 23-25, 29-27, 25-21 victory over the Mids (1-4) in a match lasting two hours and 37 minutes on a marathon middle day of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational.
Saturday's opening match saw Penn defeat Coppin State in five sets while Stony Brook defeated the Eagles in five sets in the final match of the day. The three matches lasted a combined eight hours and 18 minutes and saw eight of the 14 sets determined by just two points.
"Credit Penn for the depth they had at every position," said Navy head coach
Paco Labrador. "Their setters ran a great offense and our blockers had a tough time slowing them down."
Set One
The score was tied at 15 and 17 before a 3-0 run gave Penn a 20-17 lead. Navy would close to as few as two points at 20-18, 21-19 and 23-21 before the Quakers scored back-to-back points to win the first frame.
Set Two
Navy tired to build some early separation by taking a 12-7 lead, but Penn kept chipping away at the margin and eventually took a 20-19 lead. The teams traded the next four points to keep the Quakers in front by one point at 22-21. Another sideout by the Mids tied the score at 22-22, then an ace by
Isa Boyd gave them a 23-22 lead. A Penn attack error gave Navy a 24-22 advantage, but an attack error by the Mids sliced the lead in half at 24-23. Boyd fed
Hailey Jacobus for a kill to even the match at one set each.
Set Three
The frame would see six lead changes and 15 ties, with the score knotted at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.
Farrah Eike posted a kill to give the Mids a 24-23 lead and a serve to win the set. A Penn kill extended play at 24-24, then an ace by the Quakers gave them a serve for the stanza with a 25-24 lead. Eike erased the opportunity with a kill, only to see a kill by Penn give it another serve for the set at 26-25. A service error promptly tied the set again an 26. Another Penn kill (27-26) followed by another service error kept play going (27-27). The Quakers would record a kill to have a fourth chance to serve for the set. This time they converted the opportunity with a kill to win the key frame.
Set Four
There were "only" 10 ties to go along with seven lead chances in what turned out to be the final set of the match. The score was tied at 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17, then Penn ran off three-straight points to take a 20-17 lead. Navy drew to within two points at both 20-18 and 21-19, but that was followed by the Quakers registering a pair of kills to take a 23-19 lead. That margin was enough for Penn to thwart any further rallies by Navy.
Statistical Summary
Penn posted just one more kill than Navy (61-60), but committed seven fewer attack errors (25-18) to finish with a much healthier hitting percentage of .279 while holding the Mids to a mark of .199. Most of the remainder of the team statistics were fairly even, except in digs where the Quakers enjoyed a 73-62 advantage.
Eike totaled four kills and four attack errors in the first set, but recorded 14 kills and three attack errors over the rest of the match to finish with a team-high 18 kills. She also added 12 digs and a pair of blocks. Joining her in double figure kills were
Caroline Buffum,
Ellen Gundlach and
Grace Burgoyne, all of whom recored 10 kills.
Amara Chambers not only led the Navy passers with 24 digs, she also dished out 11 assists to notch a double-double. Defensively, Burgoyne recorded a team-high four blocks.
"Amara was all over the court made some huge digs against powerful swings from Penn," said Labrador. "Grace scored well for us and continues to be a great vocal leader on the floor."
Up Next
Navy closes the weekend with a Sunday 3 p.m. match against Stony Brook.
"Stony Brook is a similar team to Penn," said Labrador, "and we are looking forward to applying what we learned today in our match tomorrow."
Kristen Dickmann Invitational Results / Length of Match
Stony Brook def. Penn, 3-2 (21-25, 15-25, 25-18, 26-24, 16-14) / 2:26
Navy def. Coppin State, 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23) / 2:23
Penn def. Coppin State, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 27-29, 16-14) / 2:52
Penn def. Navy, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 29-27, 25-21) / 2:37
Stony Brook def. Coppin State, 3-2 (26-24, 26-28, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12) / 2:49
Stony Brook at Navy / Sunday, 3 p.m.
