Air Force Academy
BYU
Falcons Stun BYU, 3-1
10/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 4, 2002
For the first time in the history of the Academy, the Air Force volleyball team defeated BYU. The Falcons bounced back from an opening-game loss to win the next three and grab the 3-1 (20-30, 30-23, 30-22, 30-20) victory.
"I am so proud of our team," head coach Penny Lucas-White said. "Our players are maturing so quickly. To come into BYU's house and beat them on their own court is a huge step forward for our program."
The Falcons had struggled against the Cougars in the past. Heading into the match, they were 0-8 all-time and had never even won a game against BYU. The Falcons were soundly defeated in game one, and chances of the upset looked grim. But the team pulled together, winning the next three games to win the match.
The Falcons finished the match with a .170 hitting percentage (53k-141a-29e). They tallied 53 digs and had 12 team blocks. Delavane Diaz led all hitters with 19 kills. Tiffany Bishop, playing with a hurt ankle, notched 16 kills on 27 attacks for a .444 hitting percentage. She also had three block solos and five block assists. Lamecca Jefferson added eight kills and nine digs. Libero Jaime Beatty led the team with 13 digs. Kristin Huitt just missed the double-double, notching 44 assists and nine digs.
Brittany Edmonds, starting for the first time this season, had a career-high seven block assists.
"We made the change because I felt like we needed some players with more leadership and experience on the court," Lucas-White said. "Edmonds did a great job for us defensively."
The win over the Cougars snapped a 36-match losing streak in Mountain West matches. Including league championships, the Falcons were 0-15 for the past two seasons in the conference.
The Falcons are will continue their road trip against Utah on Oct 5th. They are 0-8 against the Utah, who is ranked 20th in the nation.
