Click the above image to access video highlights of the match and an interview with Avery Stowell

ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– In a match filled with momentum shifts, the last one went toward the Navy volleyball team to help it rally and defeat Army in five sets before an overflow crowd at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.  The Mids (11-9, 6-3 Patriot League) defeated the Black Knights (15-8, 6-4), 25-19, 15-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12.
 
"It was another incredibly evenly matched battle between two teams who play with a ton of heart," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador. "I'm proud of our resilience.  We made some better decisions and limited our errors as the match went on."
 
Navy slowly edged its way out to a 14-7 lead in the first set and was able to maintain at least a four-point lead (22-18) in winning the frame.  Offense dictated the first set as Navy registered 17 kills and a .400 attack percentage and Army posted 14 kills and a .306 hitting percentage.
 
The Mids started to carry that momentum into the second set as they took an early 6-4 lead.  In no time, however, Navy found itself trailing 12-6.  Army would go on to open up advantages of 15-8 and 20-12 to win the stanza.
 
The Black Knights put the Mids on their heels from the start of the third set.  Army scored the first three points on its way to taking an 8-3 lead.  Navy closed to within two points at 11-9, but Army answered by taking leads of 14-9 and 19-12 before winning the set.
 
After its strong start on offense, the Mids were held to 19 kills and a .114 hitting percentage over the course of sets two and three.  In contrast, the Black Knights knocked down 30 kills and tallied a .310 hitting percentage in the same two-set span.
 
Doing much of the damage for Army in the second and third sets were Allie Strong, Courtney Horace, Sydney Morriss (each with seven kills) and Monica Eckford (five kills).  That foursome combined for 26 kills and a .373 hitting percentage in those two sets.
 
"Army can really overwhelm you offensively if you don't serve well," said Labrador.  "I thought our serve and pass game started strong, but we struggled in sets two and three."
 
"It was a really big gut-check for us," said team captain Emily Solis (Sr., Leesburg, Va.).  "We went up (to the locker room) after the second set and said, 'when they get a point we were beating ourselves up too much over it.  They are going to have good swings and have really good points, but so are we.'"
 
Navy started to gain some momentum late in the third set.  The Mids trailed, 21-14, but were able to winnow the deficit down to three points at 23-20 before they ran out of time and fell behind 2-1 in sets.
 
That late set boost carried over into the start of the fourth set as Navy took leads of 4-0 and 8-4.  But just as quickly as the run started, it stopped as Army regained the lead at 11-9.  The Mids ran off the next five points to take a 14-11 lead, then the Black Knights surged ahead by the score of 15-14.
 
The teams were tied at 16-16 when a kill by Maddi Sgattoni (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) started a 4-0 run for the Mids that gave them a 20-16 lead.  The cushion nearly evaporated as the Black Knights closed to within one point at 22-21.  Melissa Carter (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) posted a kill, then an Army attack error took Navy to set point with a 24-21 lead.  Miscommunication on the Army side of the net during a pass closed out the fourth set and sent the teams into a fifth set for the second time this season and the fifth time in the last eight matches.
 
Army recorded more kills than Navy in the fourth set, 15-12, but the Black Knights also had eight more hitting errors (10-2) which led to their being outhit percentagewise by the Mids, .345-.132.
 
Sgattoni started the decisive and shortened fifth set with a kill, then a kill by teammate Avery Stowell (So., Yorba Linda, Calif.) doubled the lead out to 2-0.  A kill by Morriss sliced the lead in half, but another kill by Stowell and an Army attack error made the score 4-1 in favor of the Mids. 
 
The Navy lead grew to four points at 6-2, then six points at 10-4.  Back-to-back points by the Black Knights led to the Mids calling timeout with a 10-6 lead.  It eventually became a three-point game when an Army block made the score 12-9.  Stowell knocked down another kill, with Morriss following with a kill of her own to keep the margin at three points (13-10).  A Carter kill gave Navy the chance to serve for match point.  The Black Knights erased two opportunities for the Mids to win, then an Army attack error after a long rally ended the two-hour and 15-minute match.
 
"The crowd was key after the third set," said Labrador.  "We needed some extra energy and the fans really upped their volume and made their presence felt.  It's wonderful to play in front of so many Mids, faculty, staff, families and community members."
 
Navy slowed down Army's four main hitters in the last two sets as they combined 20 kills and 11 errors on 52 swings (.173). 
 
"Paco brought us in and said pass and serve is what will equalize this game for us," said Solis.  "That part of the game is all mental, so we had to dial in on every single serve and every single pass because it mattered to us.  As soon as we had that attitude, I think we made every single one count."
 
In contrast, Sgattoni started to heat up as the match went on.  She tallied nine kills and five attack errors on 35 attempts (.114) in the first three sets, but recorded eight kills and one error on 20 attempts (.350) in sets four and five.
 
Army ended the match with more kills than Navy, 67-59, and a narrow advantage in hitting percentage, .259-.253.  However, over sets four and five both teams tallied 23 kills, but the Black Knights led the Mids in errors, 13-5, which gave Navy a .340-.169 lead in attack percentage.
 
Sgattoni led Navy with 17 kills, Stowell added 15 kills and Montag had 12 kills.  Setter Paige Miles (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) registered 47 assists, 10 digs and four aces.  Sgattoni and Stowell each dropped in two service aces, as well.
 
"Paige set a smart match, came up with some clutch digs and served really well," said Labrador.  "Avery and Amanda hit their way out of some tough spots."
 
Defensively for the Mids, Solis snared a match-best 22 digs and Sofia Hruby (Sr., Austin, Texas) tallied five blocks.
 
Morriss led all players with 18 kills, with her total being one more than Eckford's and Sgattoni's 17 kills.
 
Navy will head to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley next week for matches at Lehigh on Friday and at Lafayette on Saturday.