Nov. 15, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- American will play host to the four-team Patriot League Volleyball Tournament this weekend, with the two semifinal round matches slated to be played Friday evening and the championship match scheduled for Saturday night. The first semifinal match features the top-seeded Eagles taking on the No. 4 seed Navy at 6 p.m., with No. 2 Army and No. 3 Colgate following in the second match. The title match will be played at 7 p.m., with the winner receiving the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Fans who signed up for either the Navy All-Access or Patriot League All-Access packages will be able to watch live streaming audio and video from each of the matches this weekend. Subscriptions for Navy All-Access are available through www.navysports.com, while fans can subscribe to Patriot League All-Access via the league's web site, www.patriotleague.com(.)

Navy is making its third appearance in the league tournament over the last four years. The Mids, who posted a 21-11 overall record this year, placed fourth in the league this season with an 8-6 record in league play. Navy closed the regular season with three-straight league wins and four consecutive victories overall.

"We're excited to be competing in the league tournament again," said Navy head coach Mike Schwob who has guided the Mids to the postseason in seven of his 12 seasons. "That was one of the goals we set for ourselves at the start of the year. With that accomplished, now we can move on to another one of our goals, which is to be playing in the championship match Saturday.

"As good as American has been during the regular season, they always seem to raise the level of their game during the league tournament. We will have to do the same Friday in order to be successful."

The Mids averaged 15.3 kills per game during the league season, while totaling a .224 hitting percentage. In contrast, Navy held its opponents to 13.72 kills per game and to a .195 attack percentage. The Mids also held a 2.00-1.58 service aces per game advantage over their foes.

Navy's Rachel Dougherty (Sr., Derwood, Md.) concluded the Patriot League season ranked second in the league with a 4.96 kills-per-game average. She also ranked among the league leaders with a .251 hitting percentage and with a 0.40 service aces per game. For her efforts this year, Dougherty garnered First-Team All-Patriot League honors.

Teammate Alexa Gibbs (Jr., Springfield, Ill.) tied for seventh place in the league with 3.58 kills per game and stood seventh with a .332 hitting percentage. The lone additional Mid to rank among the league leaders in multiple statistical categories this year was Marissa Watson (Jr., Redondo Beach, Calif.) who placed third with 11.82 service aces per game and 13th with a 2.72 digs-per-game average.

Additionally, Jessie Sims (Jr., Etowah, N.C.) ranked 10th in the league with 3.43 kills per game, Aimee' Burns (Sr., Dallas, Texas) ranked eighth with 3.19 digs per game and Krista Eschelman (So., Germantown, Md.) ranked 13th with a .269 attack percentage.

American, meanwhile, enters the postseason as the No. 1 seed for the seventh time in as many seasons. The Eagles compiled a league mark of 13-1 and posted a 24-7 record in all matches this year.

A trio of players on the squad received all-league recognition this season. Chelsa Brooks and Rubena Sukaj both were named to the league's first team, while Ivana Cebakova received second-team accolades.

The Mids lost both matches they played against American this season, losing in five games in Macdonough Hall and a three-game match in Bender Arena.

The Mids and the Eagles have met during the postseason once before, with American recording a 30-20, 30-21, 30-15 victory over Navy during the semifinal round of the 2004 tournament.

Army compiled a 12-2 record in the Patriot League this year to finish in the second place. Among their victories were a four-game victory over American and a pair of wins (four games and three games) over Navy. Army's Rachael Breinling and Jamie Clark both garnered first-team all-league honors, with Maureen Bannon receiving second-team accolades.

Colgate ended the regular season in third place with an 11-3 league record. The Raiders, who defeated the Mids twice this season, placed Katrina Zawojski on the league's first team and both Jackie Adlam and Casey Ritt on the second team.