Nov. 10, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy volleyball team will conclude its 2011 campaign this weekend when the Midshipmen play host to Lafayette and Lehigh in the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. Navy will first face Lafayette Friday night at 7 p.m. before taking on Lehigh Saturday at 4 p.m.

Live statistics from both matches will be available at NavySports.com.

All fans without a Department of Defense sticker affixed to their vehicle will need to either park outside of the Naval Academy and walk through the security checkpoint or else ride the free shuttle bus to and from the matches. The shuttle bus will originate from and return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (parking is $5. per vehicle) on both days.

Prior to the start of Saturday's match, Navy will hold a Senior Day ceremony for its four members of the Class of 2012 -- Holly Berger (Claremont, Calif.), Maida Kalic' (Vernon, N.Y.), Kaitlin Roseti (Williamsville, N.Y.) and team manager Janie Baird (Ravenel, S.C.) -- and their families.

"I have been so gratified and impressed with the substance exhibited every day by our team in general and the seniors in particular," said Navy head coach Larry Bock. "These amazing young ladies know how to persist and have done exactly that for their entire volleyball careers. Being in the gym with Holly, Maida, Kaitlin and Janie over the last nine months has certainly been one of the high points of my professional life. (Assistant coach) Kait Kozak and I are grateful for the chance to have worked alongside people who are destined to make a great impact in a much larger arena than volleyball."

Berger has been a mainstay in Navy's lineup since her arrival on The Yard. She has appeared in over 100 matches for the Mids, ranks second in school history with 1,378 digs and stands third in the rally scoring era with 121 service aces. Kalic' is one match shy of having played in 100 for her career, has posted nearly 550 kills and ranks among the Navy rally scoring era leaders for career blocks (193) and blocks per set (0.60 bps). Roseti saw her season come to an end before it even began as she suffered a knee injury prior to the start of the season that has kept her off the court the entire campaign.

Navy (6-21, 1-11 Patriot League) enters the final weekend of the year after dropping a pair of three-set matches to Army and Holy Cross last week. The top performance by a Mid in either match was recorded by Christy Rapp (Jr., Royal Oak, Mich.), who set career highs with 14 kills and a .423 attack percentage against Holy Cross.

"These last two matches obviously represent a final chance to highlight the true quality of the 2011 Navy volleyball team," said Bock. "We are excited about the opportunity to take to the court for one final weekend as a team."

The Mids dropped a four-set match to Lafayette (9-16, 2-10) when the teams met earlier this year in Easton, Pa. Navy won the first set by the score of 25-22, then lost consecutive sets to the Leopards by scores of 25-20, 25-10 and 25-13. Lafayette posted 46 kills and hit .153 on the night, while limiting Navy to 37 kills and a .078 attack percentage. Three Leopards reached double figures in kills, with Camissa Beghou leading all players in the match with 12. Meanwhile, Navy's offense was led by Erin Fortner (So., Villa Hills, Ky.) with 11 kills. Defensively, Lafayette's Christy Mebust grabbed 32 digs while Rapp hauled in a Navy-best 17 digs.

Lehigh (18-8, 9-3), which will play Friday at American, also won the first meeting of the year against Navy. The Mountain Hawks won a 25-22, 25-12, 25-13 decision over the Mids in Bethlehem, Pa. Though the defensive statistics between the teams were nearly identical, Lehigh's offense produced 37 kills while Navy could tally only 27 kills. Lehigh's Taylor Poole hit .500 in the match and recorded a match-best nine kills. On the other side of the net, Kalic', Carolyn Ewert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.) and Caroline Jacobs (So., Arnold, Md.) all posted five kills in the contest.