ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Jordan Llewellyn (Jr., Port Depot, Maryland), Jamie Llewellyn (Jr., Port Depot, Maryland) and Maggie Bodman (Jr., Northbrook, Ill.) combined for 44 of Navy’s 64 game-breaking wins in a four-set Mids (9-7, 6-1 Patriot League) win over Colgate (13-4, 6-1) on Friday evening at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The 23-25, 28-26, 28-26, 25-12 decision gives the Mids five straight wins, six straight home wins this season and eight straight home wins in the Patriot League since last season. Additionally, the result ends an 11-game winning streak for the Raiders.
The first three sets tied the score 43 times, the leader changed hands 18 times and lasted one hour and 45 minutes.
“Games like this come down to inches,” said Navy head coach Paco Labrador. “Both teams played their hearts out. We knew Colgate was going to earn us every point tonight, and they certainly did.”
Set a
Colgate led 20-18, then the Mids took a 22-20 lead. The Raiders scored the next three points before a kill from Jamie Llewellyn tied the score for the 10th time. A kill from Colgate’s Carlie Rzeszotarski brought the Raiders to the set point. A Jamie Llewellyn attack error gave visitors the opening frame.
Navy recorded more wins than Colgate in the set, 15-10, but the Mids had nine offensive errors to just two for the Raiders. Colgate recorded five of his eight blocks for the game in the opening set.
Set Two
Just like in the first set, Colgate took a four-point lead early in the second set. The Mids led 13-9 but managed to tie the set at 13-13. From there, the score was tied on every point until 19-19. Colgate was able to take a 23-20 advantage, then Jamie Llewellyn counted a block. This was followed by his one kill tally to make it 23-22. Colgate responded with a kill to reach the set point, 24-22. A broken play on the navy side of the field led to a passer Averi Miller (Jr., Phoenix, Arizona) recording a kill to extend the set. Bodman followed with a kill to tie the score at 24-24.
Colgate had another chance to serve for the set as a kill gave him a 25-24 lead. Navy obliterated it with a Bodman kill, then a Colgate attack error gave the Mids their first serve for the set. A Navy service error quickly tied the score at 26-26. Jordan Llewellyn returned the serve in the mediums with a kill, then Anna Klemyer (Jr., Sarasota, Florida) and Jordan Llewellyn combined for a block to tie the match at one set each.
Bodman recorded six kills and no attacking errors out of 10 attempts in the stanza. Both offenses clicked as Navy hit .409 and Colgate posted a .359 offense percentage. The difference was that the Mids finished with an attack error at five for the Raiders.
Set three
The score was tied 19 times in the third set and the lead was traded nine times after being traded as many times in the first two sets combined.
A Marine service error and a Colgate kill followed by a Marine attack error gave the Raiders a 24-22 lead and resulted in a Marine timeout. Bodman cut the margin in half with a kill, then a Colgate offensive error tied the score at 24-24. Colgate returned to serve with a kill and had his third set point from the frame. A Raiders blocking error, however, once again tied the set at 25-25. Rilee Sherman (Jr., Cibolo, Texas) pulled back to serve for the Mids, and his effort was ruled out on the right sideline, giving Colgate a 26-25 lead. However, Labrador contested the call and the replay proved the ball had hit bounds, giving Sherman an ace and Navy a 26-25 lead.
Sherman’s next serve – this time to win the set – resulted in a Colgate kill that tied the score at 26-26. Ava Toppin (Carolina Beach, NC) pulled down a kill on the next game to give the Mids a sideout, header and serve. Miller went to the service line and her effort fell to the ground on the Colgate side of the net to give Navy a 2-1 advantage.
Of the 28 points Navy scored in the set, 21 of them were kills. Conversely, Colgate recorded kills on 13 of its 26 points.
Set Four
Colgate was the first team to reach both five and 10 points in each of the first three sets. In the fourth set, Navy took a 5-2, 10-4 lead to quickly build their biggest lead of the game. The Mids extended their lead as a 3-0 run gave them a 15-7 cushion, then it grew to a 19-10 advantage and soon after Navy beat Colgate at Annapolis for the second consecutive year.
Navy had just nine kills and a .292 hit percentage in the final set, but held Colgate to six kills and a mark of (-.185).
Statistical summary
Navy had 64 kills and a .274 hit percentage and held Colgate to 48 kills and a .194 performance. Navy also held a 12-8 lead in blocks, a 6-4 lead in aces and a 54-50 lead in digs.
Jordan Llewellyn had 16 kills and just two errors on 31 hits for a .452 hitting night. She also had 10 digs and had two aces. Bodman finished with 14 kills and one error on 24 attempts to post a .542 save percentage. She also had four blocks. Jamie Llewellyn tallied 14 kills and four blocks, Miller dished out 50 assists and Hannah Hoover (So., Katy, Texas) seized 19 digs.
“Jordan was attacking at an extremely high level tonight,” Labrador said. “His swings saved us from some tough times. Maggie had a nice mix of power and precision, and Anna really finds her connection with Averi.”
Next
Navy will hit the road Sunday for a 2 p.m. game at Bucknell, then play Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 15 in a game that opens the second half of the league campaign.
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