On Thursday morning, No.3 New Mexico Military Institute defeated the No. 11 seed Navarro College after going down two sets to advance in the consolation bracket of the national tournament. With the comeback, the Broncos improved to 32-3 on the year.

Set 1

To open the match, the Broncos struggled to find rhythm as they trailed early throughout the set. Navarro was able to stay ahead throughout the set but by a narrow lead. After trailing for the first 10 points, the Broncos were able to tie the set at 10 with the help of a solo block by Yuliana Favela - her lone block of the morning. NMMI was able to take the lead behind a kill by Selin Guler and Michelle Mlikan.

Both sides traded points once again to tie the set at 19-19. However, Navarro was able to end the set on a 6-1 run as they took the first set 25-20.

Set 2

In the second set the Broncos took early command as they held a 7-3 advantage. The lead wouldn't last long as the match was tied at 9 and then a couple points later at 10 and 11.

Carola Schnidrig gave the Broncos a 15-13 lead as she tallied one of her 14 total kills. Eventually Navarro would end the set on a 12-5 run as they took a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 win in the second set.

Set 3

Navarro opened the middle set with an impressive 8-4 run. NMMI responded with a four-point rally to knot the set at 8 with a pair of kills by Favela and Schnidrig, forcing a Navarro timeout.

Following the quick break, Kyra Hall made an impact as she recorded a pair of kills to help give the Broncos a 15-11 lead. The remainder of the set was close but NMMI was able to keep a slight edge and ended the set on a 5-2 run as they earned their first set win of the championships as they secured the middle set 25-21.

Set 4

Using momentum from the first set win of the tournament, NMMI was able to control as the defense settled in and created the spark needed to extend the match. After being tied at four, NMMI steadily earned points and didn't allow Navarro to get back in reach after taking a 22-14 lead behind a kill by Sarah Schubert - forcing a Navarro timeout.

Following the timeout Navarro earned a pair of points but Mlikan and Dilean Bounds both recorded a kill to put NMMI in the set-point position. With an attack error by Navarro, the Broncos were able to knot the match at 2-2 as they secured the fourth set 25-19.

Set 5

The final set was all Broncos. NMMI jumped out early to a 8-2 lead, which set the tone for the rest of the set. Sarah Schubert secured the Broncos win as recorded her 16th and final kill of the match to secure the final set 15-8.

Head Coach Shelby Forchtner enjoyed how the team responded after going down 2-0, "basically we just survived to play another day, we should've been playing the way we did in the last two sets since the beginning. That's our team, that's our style," Forchtner said.

The freshmen class accounted for 35 of the 66 total kills, "It's nice to see our freshmen right now coming into games and stepping up to help get a big win," Forchtner said. 

The Broncos will return to the court tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. CST as they take on conference foe Odessa College, where the winner will book a spot in the 9th place match Saturday morning.