Navy Volleyball’s Five-Match Winning Streak Ends in Four-Set Loss to Loyola
The Navy Midshipmen saw their five-match winning streak and perfect start to Patriot League play come to an end Friday night as Loyola Maryland defeated Navy in four sets at Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Greyhounds earned a 27-25, 22-25, 25-17, 27-25 victory, dropping Navy to 6-7 overall and 4-1 in conference play at the time. Loyola improved to 5-9 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League with the road victory.
Navy entered the match playing some of its best volleyball of the season after opening Patriot League competition with four consecutive victories. The Midshipmen had defeated Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Bucknell during the streak, with the Colgate victory coming after Navy rallied from a two-set deficit. Navy’s 4-0 conference start was its best in a fully played season since the 2018 Midshipmen, who eventually won the Patriot League Tournament.
Navy lets first set slip away
The opening set may have been the biggest missed opportunity of the night for the Midshipmen. After the teams battled to a 14-14 tie, Navy began to take control and eventually built a 23-17 advantage. The Midshipmen reached set point with a commanding 24-18 lead, putting themselves one point away from taking an early 1-0 advantage in the match.
Instead, Loyola produced a remarkable comeback behind the serving of Addie Huber. The Greyhounds erased all six of Navy’s initial set-point opportunities as Huber delivered three aces during the rally, eventually tying the set at 24. Navy earned another opportunity at 25-24, but Loyola responded with a kill, block and ace to complete a 27-25 comeback victory.
Service play proved especially damaging to Navy during that opening set. Loyola recorded six aces against only two service errors, while Navy finished the frame with one ace and five service errors. Those mistakes helped turn a set Navy appeared to have under control into an early deficit and established a theme that would matter throughout the match.
Midshipmen respond in second set
Navy did not allow the disappointment of the opening set to linger and immediately jumped ahead 4-0 in the second. The Midshipmen extended their advantage to 9-3 and later 16-8 before Loyola began another comeback attempt. The Greyhounds pulled within two at 16-14, forcing Navy to answer after watching another significant advantage begin to disappear.
The Midshipmen responded by rebuilding their lead to 21-15, but Loyola again fought back and eventually made it 23-22. Farrah Eike delivered a kill to give Navy set point, and Grace Burgoyne followed with another kill to finish the frame, 25-22. The victory evened the match at one set apiece and appeared to give Navy some momentum heading into the third.
Loyola takes control
Loyola quickly regained control in the third set by building an 11-4 advantage. Navy managed to fight its way back within 14-12 and remained within striking distance at 18-15, but the Greyhounds responded by winning five of the next six points. Loyola eventually closed out the set 25-17 to move within one set of the victory.
Navy’s offense struggled considerably during the third frame after hitting well during the first two sets. The Midshipmen recorded only seven kills against eight errors on 42 attempts for a negative-.024 hitting percentage. Loyola was not dominant offensively, hitting .163 in the third, but its 15 kills provided enough production to take advantage of Navy’s mistakes.
Fourth set goes down to the wire
Navy refused to go quietly in a dramatic fourth set that featured 11 ties and three lead changes. The teams were tied at 20 before Loyola moved ahead 23-21, but a Greyhounds attack error and a kill from Hailey Jacobus brought Navy even again. Loyola reached match point at 24-23, only for Jacobus to answer with another kill and extend the match.
There was another dramatic moment when Loyola initially appeared to have won the match after an Eike attack went long. Navy head coach Paco Labrador challenged the call, and video review determined that Loyola had touched the ball at the net, tying the set at 25. The Greyhounds responded immediately, however, recording consecutive kills to take the set 27-25 and finish the four-set victory.
Eike delivers another strong performance
Eike continued her impressive season despite the loss, finishing with a team-high 20 kills while adding 16 digs for a double-double. Ellen Gundlach added 10 kills after entering the week as the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, while Isa Boyd distributed 30 assists and recorded three service aces. Amara Chambers led Navy with 18 digs, and Siena Morgan was a major presence at the net with eight blocks.
Eike’s performance continued a strong stretch that had already earned her Patriot League Player of the Week honors earlier in the season. She had recorded 24 kills and 13 digs during Navy’s comeback victory over Colgate before adding 11 kills in a sweep of Holy Cross. Gundlach followed by earning the league’s Player of the Week award after totaling 36 kills and hitting .452 during victories over Lafayette and Bucknell.
Service game makes the difference
The final statistics illustrate just how competitive the match was despite Loyola winning three of four sets. Navy actually finished with the better hitting percentage, .190 to .174, and committed eight fewer attack errors than the Greyhounds. However, Loyola held advantages in kills, 58-50; aces, 10-5; blocks, 14-13; and digs, 71-66.
Morgan Crawford was the biggest offensive problem for Navy, producing a career-high 24 kills for Loyola while adding 15 digs. Huber was equally important with 20 digs and five aces, while Ava Nepkin contributed 12 kills and 14 digs. Loyola’s ability to generate pressure from the service line and extend rallies defensively helped overcome Navy’s advantage in overall hitting efficiency.
The loss was particularly frustrating because Navy had opportunities to change the outcome in both the first and fourth sets. Holding a 24-18 advantage in the opener normally should result in a set victory, while the Midshipmen battled all the way to 25-25 in the fourth before Loyola scored the final two points. Navy did plenty well enough offensively to compete, but Loyola was better in several of the high-pressure moments that ultimately decided the match.
MSB Take
This was a difficult loss for Navy because the Midshipmen were incredibly close to putting themselves in position to win the match. The first set was the turning point, as Navy simply cannot allow a 24-18 lead and six consecutive set points to disappear at home. Had the Midshipmen closed that frame, the entire complexion of the night could have been different.
Still, one loss should not erase what Navy accomplished during its five-match winning streak and 4-0 start to Patriot League play. Eike continues to look like one of the conference’s most dangerous attackers, while Gundlach, Chambers, Boyd and Morgan give the Midshipmen production throughout the lineup. The biggest lesson from the Loyola loss is finishing: Navy competed well enough to win but must become more efficient when it has opportunities to close sets.
The Patriot League schedule is long enough for Navy to recover, and the Midshipmen have already shown they can compete with quality conference opponents. Cleaning up service errors and handling opposing serving runs will be particularly important after Loyola used the service line to completely change the opening set. Navy’s response to this setback will ultimately say much more about the Midshipmen than one frustrating night in Annapolis.
