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ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" Air Force used late runs to win the first two sets on its way to posting a four-set victory over the Navy volleyball team Wednesday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis, Md. The Falcons (2-6) tallied a 25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20 victory over the Mids (2-5).

"While disappointed with the loss," said Navy head coach Larry Bock, "I think we grew up a bit more during the course of tonight. We were able to determine the line between being careful and being the smart-aggressive team we want to have. And we sure kept battling down to the very end. Developing those attributes, as well as being able to deal with an opponent that has singled out its match against us as being extra important will help us down the road."

The first set was tied at 21 when a kill gave Air Force the one-point lead. That margin quickly grew to 24-21 on a service ace and a Navy ball handling error. The Mids climbed right back into the frame with back-to-back kills only to see the Falcons win the set on a kill of their own.

The second set also went right down to the wire as the score was knotted at 20. Air Force again scored consecutive points to take a two-point lead, which was cut on half by the Mids on the next play. The Falcons notched back-to-back points once more to provide just enough breathing room to win the set.

Navy went on its best run of the night midway through the third set. An 8-1 sprint by the Mids allowed them to build a 17-9 cushion and cut the deficit in sets in half.

Air Force responded by jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set and was able to maintain a slight lead over what would prove to be the last set played on the night.

Air Force held just a 50-47 advantage over Navy in kills, but thanks to a 10-3 lead in blocks the Falcons outhit the Mids by the count of .253-.153.

Tara Dotzauer (Raleigh, N.C.) led the Navy offense with 11 kills, while Darby Minton (Fr., Chino Hills, Calif.) snared a team-high 17 digs.

Air Force's offense was led by Akokwe Clement's 19 kills.

Navy will play host to the Kristen Dickmann Invitational this weekend.