BALTIMORE – Three Loyola University Maryland players had 11 or more kills Friday night, and the Greyhounds took two sets off the U.S. Naval Academy, but the Midshipmen had 13 kills and hit .429 in the deciding fifth set for a 25-27, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 15-5 victory in the teams' season-opener.
 
Abby Hamilton led Loyola with 14 kills, while Lauren Link had 12 in her collegiate debut and Adara Kellogg posted a career-high 11.
 
The Greyhounds opened the fifth set with a kill by Caitlin Churney, but the Midshipmen reeled off eight-straight points with Avery Stowell and Maddy Sgattoni each picking up three kills during the run.
 
A Sgattoni then had a kill to make it 10-2, and while the Greyhounds got back within seven, 12-5, Navy ended the match with two straight points.
 
Sgattoni and Stowell each had 16 kills for the Midshipmen who hit .233 as a team.
 
Link, Hamilton and Ashley Dwyer each had double-doubles for the Greyhounds. Link posted 16 digs to go with her 11 kills, while Hamilton had 11 digs and 14 kills. Dwyer dished out a team-best 27 assists and had 13 digs.
 
Katie Forsythe led all players with 36 digs in the match. Cecylia Guye matched her career-high with nine kills, and she also was in on four blocks, matching Churney for team-high honors.
 
The Greyhounds and Navy play again on Saturday in a 4:30 p.m. match at the Midshipmen's Alumni Hall.