ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Maddi Sgattoni's (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) 21 kills and 16 digs were not enough for the Navy (8-8, 3-2 Patriot League) volleyball team in a five-set loss to American (11-7, 4-1), Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.  The Eagles, who did not play a match Friday, defeated the Mids, who recorded a four-set, two-hour victory last night at Loyola, won the two-hour and 33-minute match by set scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-8.
 
It marked the third-straight time the teams have met in our nation's capital in which the match has been extended to five sets.
 
"I don't think either team can say they played their best today," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "We definitely can look back at sequences in each of the sets we lost and see where we could have turned some points our way.  In set five, it is hard to come back from a 3-0 deficit on the road against one of the best teams in the league.  We kept clawing and fighting, though, which are great signs, but we need to play cleaner, crisper volleyball throughout the course of a match."
 
Navy dug a hole for itself right at the start of the fifth set.  Two American kills followed by miscommunication on the Navy side of the court led to the Eagles taking a quick 3-0 lead.  The Mids closed to within one point at 3-2 and 4-3, but then fell behind 7-3 and couldn't cut much more into the margin.
 
American totaled only five kills to go along with one attack error in the last set.  In contrast, Navy tallied four kills and six attack errors in the final frame.
 
The Eagles started the match by scoring four of the first five points of set one.  The Mids winnowed the margin down to two points several times, with the last coming at 8-6.  From there, American built leads of 15-9 and 20-13 on its way to taking a 1-0 lead.
 
American held an 11-9 lead in set two when Navy went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage.  The Eagles regained the lead when a 7-0 run of their own boosted them out to a 20-18 lead.  The Mids soon responded with a 5-0 run to take a 24-21 lead.  After a Navy service error, Sgattoni knocked down a kill to even the proceedings at one set each.
 
Set three saw a 3-0 run by American give it a 15-12 lead.  Navy slowly climbed back into the set and tied the score at 19-19.  An ensuing 4-0 run by the Eagles allowed them to claim the stanza.
 
Navy took a 10-7 lead early in the fourth set and was able to maintain a slim lead until American tied the score at 16-16.  The score was tied again at 18-18 when a kill by Sofia Hruby (Sr., Austin, Texas) followed by back-to-back American attack errors gave Navy a 21-18 lead.  Sgattoni soon produced kills on back-to-back plays to give the Mids a 23-19 advantage, which eventually sent the match into a fifth set.
 
Navy held a 57-50 lead in kills, but the Mids committed 31 attack errors to 17 for American.  Part of that difference came by way of blocks by the Eagles as they registered 14 and limited the Mids to five blocks.  Additionally, the Mids narrowly edged the Eagles in digs, 68-63, and American held an 8-5 advantage in aces.
 
Sgattoni's 21 kills were a season high and nearly matched the career-high 25 kills she produced last November in the championship match of the Patriot League Tournament when the Mids defeated the Eagles in five sets.  She was the lone Mid to reach double figures in kills today, while libero Emily Solis (Sr., Leesburg, Va.) snared a career-high tying 27 digs.
 
"Maddi and Emily seemingly were involved in every play, and they produced positive results for us nearly every time they touched the ball," said Labrador.  "Each has set a pretty high standard for their level of play throughout their careers.  While it is not surprising to see them have matches like this, we don't take for granted how they performed today."
 
Navy will close out its stretch of three matches in five days Wednesday when the Mids play host to Bucknell.