OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Down two sets to none, the Stevenson women's volleyball team rallied to defeat unbeaten Messiah in five sets, 16-25, 16-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-10, to remain perfect in the MAC Commonwealth Wednesday evening at Owings Mills Gymnasium.

The Mustangs (11-3, 3-0 MAC Commonwealth), who have faced Messiah in the last three conference championship matches, improved to 29-0 in three-plus seasons in the conference and 51-5 at home since the start of the 2011 season.

It was the first victory for Stevenson after being down two sets since Sept. 5, 2009 versus Philadelphia Biblical.

Stevenson opened the match with six-straight points, including two service aces by junior Sara Bollinger before the Falcons (11-1, 2-1 MAC Commonwealth) responded with eight-consecutive points of their own.

The teams would trade points and total seven ties before Messiah took control of the opening set and won 11 of the final 13 points, including the final six. The Falcons totaled 13 more attacks than the Mustangs in the set and recorded six service aces, including three by Jane Underman.

Messiah opened up a seven point lead in the second set before Stevenson rallied to get within one, 17-16. But the Falcons, who totaled a .294 hitting percentage in the set and recorded five service aces, won the final eight points to take a two sets lead.

The Mustangs totaled just eight kills in the third set compared to 11 for Messiah, but Stevenson recorded zero errors and four total blocks to get back into the match. Senior Kara Anderson totaled six digs in the set while sophomore Deanna Bradbury added four.

Stevenson continued its hot hitting in the fourth set, recording just three errors on 38 attempts. The team also totaled five total blocks, including three block assists and one solo block by junior Kelsey Stave.

In the decisive fifth set, the Mustangs hit .259 compared to -.115 for the Falcons, as sophomore Annika Schwartz and freshman Moriah Savage totaled seven of the team's eight kills. Tied 9-9, Stevenson went on to win six of the final seven points, including back-to-back kills by Savage to seal the comeback.

Schwartz finished with 17 kills and 15 digs while Savage recorded 10 kills. Meanwhile, Bradbury finished with a game-high 25 digs for her fourth match this season with 20-plus digs.

Anderson added 12 digs while Bollinger finished with 36 assists and 11 digs.

Underman led the Falcons with 19 kills and 19 digs while Kristen Douglass totaled 17 kills and 17 digs.

The Mustangs finished with a season-high 12 total blocks while also recording at least 10 service aces for the seventh time this season.

Stevenson returns to action on Friday, September 25 when the Mustangs compete in the CMU DoubleTree Invitational at Carnegie Mellon. Stevenson opens against the 20th-ranked Tartans beginning at 6:00 p.m.