A Breezy First Set
Navy scored the first two points of the first set on kills and out-of-bounds balls from AU. The Eagles quickly adjusted, taking back control of the court.
With serves from Bella Marrero (Libero), kills from Salme Adeele Hollas (Outside Hitter), and blocks from Elise Sterling (Middle Blocker) and Sophie Dufour (Outside Hitter), the Eagles created a large gap in the score.
The set ended with a score of 25 - 12, with the Eagles winning the first set of the match.
Navy Steps Up
In the 2nd set, Navy came back harder. From service errors to blocked hits to wide balls, the AU Eagles' mistakes cost them multiple points. The Navy was able to take back some control of the court, eventually leading to a tied score of 13 - 13.
That is when Head Coach Ahen Kim called for a timeout.
As the set progressed, AU defensive plays improved from Prinzez Zeck (Middle Blocker) and offensive plays from Sophie Dufour. The teamwork from the Eagles helped them come back and once again create a gap in the score.
After multiple long rallies between both teams, AU secured a win in the 2nd set with the score being 25 - 17.
Eagles Bring it Home
Starting the 3rd set off, AU demonstrated strong defense with impressive digs from Bella Marrero.
As the play continued, the Eagles sought out to challenge a net violation that had resulted in a point for Navy. After further review of the play from officials, it was a successful challenge, bringing the score from 3 - 2 to 4 - 1 in the Eagles' favor.
During the 3rd set offense improved, with great kills from both Elise Sterling and Carly Sciborski (Opposite Side Hitter), along with service aces from Alex Loannou (Libero). However, this set would not be an easy or quick one for the Eagles.
Coming out of a timeout, Navy pushed back harder. With strong blocks and hits, Navy started to close in on the gap in the score. As AU led the score at 13 - 9, Navy challenged a call of whether the ball was in or out.
Unsuccessful, the officials upheld the call, allowing the point to be kept by AU.
However, the fight from the Navy did not stop there. Their offense continued to improve with kills and service aces, causing a lead with the score at 14 - 15. Neck and neck, the Navy called for a time-out.
On the Eagles bench, Coach Ahen Kim could be seen giving a stern talk to the players. Coming out of the time-out, the Eagles fortunately were able to bounce back and pull through.
The Eagles won the match point with a service ace from Bella Marrero, beating Navy 3 - 0.
Up Next
The AU girls’ volleyball team will be moving on to the finals and facing Army at 3 pm on Sunday.
They are the number one seed in the patriots league and are 15 - 1 and 22 - 4 overall. With a roster dominated by sophomores, this young team is just getting warmed up.
