Air Force Academy
#14 Utah
Volleyball Team Loses to No. 22 Utah, 0-3
9/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 28, 2001
SALT LAKE CITY - The Air Force volleyball team lost suffered a tough loss to a nationally-ranked opponent, as the Falcons could not overcome the size and power of the No. 22 Utah Utes. The Utes toppled the Falcons in three games (17-30, 13-30, 19-30).
The Utes had a tremendous night attacking the ball in games one and two. The team combined for just four errors in the first two games, hitting a .582 percentage. Falcons failed to record a block in either game, and had just two players with a positive hitting percentage.
Despite getting beat handily in the first two games, the Falcons bounced back to play much stronger in game three. Air Force opened up an early lead, but could not maintain momentum as the Utes took the lead midway through the game with a 9-1 rally. The Falcons made a valiant effort down the stretch, but would never recover.
Delavane Diaz was solid all night for the Falcons, hitting 16 kills on 32 attempts, a hitting percentage of .219. Diaz, who also led the team with seven digs, was one of just two Falcons with a positive hitting percentage. The team finished the match with a .022 hitting percentage.
Sylva Strzinkova led the Utes offense with 14 kills, while Kelsie Kartchner notched 30 assists. The team finished with a .444 hitting percentage, notching 52 kills and 12 errors on 90 attacks.
The Falcons (1-9, 0-3) will face another ranked opponent on Saturday, Sept. 29, when the team heads to Provo to face No. 14 BYU.
