COLORADO SPRING, Colo. –– A veteran Navy volleyball team overcame losing the first two sets to Air Force to rally for a five-set victory Saturday afternoon in Colorado Springs, Colo.  The Mids (8-5) defeated the Falcons (10-4), 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-7.
 
It is the first time Navy has won a match when it lost the first two sets since doing so on back-to-back days on Sept. 28, (Lehigh) and Sept. 29 (Lafayette), 2012, and the first time the Mids have accomplished the feat away from Annapolis since Nov. 8, 2005 (at Delaware State).
 
"It was a great win for our team," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "I'm proud of how we battled back in the third set.  We turned the tide of the match."
 
Air Force held a slim lead for the majority of the first set.  The Falcons were leading 16-15 when a 4-0 run gave them a 20-15 lead, which was enough for them to win the frame.
 
The second set was very similar to the first in that Air Force made its move with a 4-0 run when the score was tied at 16.  Navy was able to climb back to within two points at both 21-19 and 22-20, but back-to-back points for the Falcons took them to set point and allowed them to take a 2-0 advantage.
 
Navy never trailed in winning the third set.  The Mids quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead and, though the score would be tied four times, never let the Falcons hold an advantage.  The start of Navy's last run came when it stretched a slim 15-14 lead into a 21-15 cushion. 
 
The fourth set saw Navy take a 15-11 lead before Air Force winnowed the margin down to 18-17.  The Falcons would eventually tie the score at 21-21, after which the Mids called timeout.  Air Force committed a service error after the stoppage in play, then an attack error by the Falcons on the ensuing play doubled the margin out to two points at 23-21.  The teams exchanged the next two points, then a block by the duo of Katie Patrick (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) and Maddi Sgattoni (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) sent the teams into a fifth set.
 
Air Force placed the first point of the stanza on the board, then the teams traded points through 3-3.  Navy scored for the first time on its serve when Sgattoni set Patrick for a kill that gave the Mids a 4-3 lead.  After an Air Force kill tied the score at 4-4, Kelsey Kingsland (Sr., Blackwell, Mo.) posted back-to-back kills and followed with a block alongside Sarena Seelbach (Jr., Chapel Hill, N.C.) to push Navy out to a 7-4 lead.  The lead grew to 8-4 when Olivia Rozmus (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) knocked down a kill of her own.
 
The Falcons stopped the run by the Mids with a kill, but that was followed by Navy scoring the next four points to expand its lead out to 12-5.  Navy would successfully sideout on seven of the eight Air Force serves in the set, which included on the final point of the two-hour and 21-minute match that was played in front of over 1,300 fans.
 
"Credit Air Force for having a great crowd, which made for an electric atmosphere," said Labrador. 
 
The hitting numbers flipped for the teams after set two.  Air Force had totaled 33 kills and a .265 attack percentage through two sets and had limited Navy to 22 kills and a .217 hitting percentage.  Over the course of the last three sets, the Mids accrued 35 kills and a .358 attack percentage and held the Falcons to 32 kills and a .167 percentage.  The fifth set alone saw Navy post 10 kills –– six players had at least one kill in the frame –– and just one attack error on 16 swings (.562) and Air Force counter with five kills and two errors on 13 attempts (.231). 
 
"The team made some great tactical adjustments," said Labrador.  "Once we started gaining some momentum, our fans really helped push us through."
 
Air Force would lead Navy for the match in kills (65-57) and digs (68-59), while the Mids led the Falcons in hitting percentage (.293-.212) and blocks (11-2). 
 
The blocking totals Saturday were similar to when the teams met one year ago in Alumni Hall.  The Mids defeated the Falcons in four sets that day thanks in part to Navy holding a 14-4 advantage in blocks.
 
Five Mids had at least eight kills, five had at least six digs and four had at least three blocks.
 
Sgattoni led Navy with 14 kills.  She totaled just two attack errors in the match on her 36 swings (.333), which included 12 kills and one error on 28 attempts (.392) in the last four sets.  Patrick joined Sgattoni in double figures with 13 kills and added five blocks.  Both Seelbach and Kingsland recorded eight kills for the Mids, with Seelbach leading the Navy front row with six blocks.  A trio of Mids snared at least 10 digs.  Leading the team was Sydney Shearn (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) with 17, Emily Solis (Jr., Leesburg, Va.) grabbed 12 digs and Patricia Mattingly (Sr., New Albany, Ind.) totaled 10 digs while dishing out 28 assists.
 
Navy will open Patriot League play with matches at Bucknell on Sept. 21 and the next day at Lehigh.