The AU volleyball opened its three-game homestand Nov. 13 by sweeping the U.S. Naval Academy at Bender Arena.
Beating the Midshipmen (12-15, 8-6, PL) gave the Eagles (28-2, 13-1, PL) their eighth straight sweep. The win was also their 11th sweep of a Patriot League team and their 21st sweep this season.
In addition, the victory over Navy marks AU’s 10th consecutive win.
Even with their attention on their upcoming match against Colgate, the Eagles still dominated in their win over the Midshipmen. AU averaged a .350 hitting percentage against Navy’s .105 hitting percentage.
Despite their apparent domination of Navy, AU initially had to fight through some rough play. AU incurred several unforced errors to start the first set, including net violations and service errors, which kept AU neck-in-neck with Navy. Neither team led by more than three points until the game was tied at 14-14.
As the game wore on, AU slowly pulled away from Navy. The Eagles eventually pushed their lead to 19-15, forcing Navy to call a timeout. AU put Navy away by winning the first set 25-20.
Unlike the first set, AU quickly earned an advantage over Navy in the second set. A kill by Cappellino gave AU a 5-4 lead. The Eagles pushed the score to 12-5 on a kill by junior middle blocker Kelly McCaddin, forcing the Midshipmen to take time. AU were in control of the second game, eventually taking it 25-10, its largest margin of the night.
The third game had AU and Navy repeatedly closing in on each other. Not until AU earned a 16-13 on a Navy attack error did AU start to pull away. The Eagles went on to win the third set 25-19 on a kill by Cappellino.
Three players had double-digit statistics in the match. Cappellino posted a double-double with 13 digs and 14 kills, both game-highs. Junior setter Monika Smidova earned a game-high 31 assists. Junior libero Megan Rosburg added 10 digs to the Eagles’ effort.
AU’s focus on blocking paid off against Navy, earning an 11.5-2 block ratio against the Midshipmen. Six players notched block assists for AU with Navy having zero block assists. McCaddin and Smidova led the team with five block assists each.
Despite their tremendous success this season, the Eagles are looking ahead to their final game of the regular season against Colgate University. Colgate, the Patriot League defending champion, follows closely behind AU in the Patriot League standings at second place.
“We just know we have to stay focused and not get too distracted from our goal,” sophomore outside hitter Allison Cappellino said. “Obviously, we have to face Lehigh first on Friday night then deal with Colgate second. [But we’re] just going into it, keeping a positive attitude, staying focused.”
AU will face Lehigh University at Bender Arena on Nov. 15 for its second-to-last match of the regular season.
