Falcons Split Matches to Win Air Force Volleyball Invitational

Sept. 14, 2002

The Air Force volleyball team swept UC Irvine ( 32-30, 30-21, 32-30) and lost a heartbreaking match to Northern Arizona in four games (30-27, 27-30, 19-30, 28-30) to finish the Air Force Invitational with a 3-1 record. Air Force tied UC Irvine for the best record, but won the tournament title by virtue of having defeated the Anteaters head-to-head.

"I very proud of our team and am pleased with the way we played," head coach Penny Lucas-White said. "We bounced back from a disappointing start to the season and proved to ourselves that we have a strong team. We will build on our tournament successes and prepare for conference play."

Delavane Diaz was selected as the tournament's most valuable player after four solid matches. She had 66 kills, averaging 5.08 kills per game. Tiffany Bishop was also named to the all-tournament team, finishing with 54 total kills (4.18 per game).

The Falcons big match of the down was against UC Irvine, who entered the day 3-0. The Falcons, having defeated Georgia State and Furman the previous day, needed a victory to secure the tournament title. The team responded, hitting a season-high .414 percent (51k-10e-99a). Three players finished in double figures in kills, led by Diaz who had 13. Bishop added 10 and Lamecca Jefferson had 11. Kristin Huitt continued her solid play at setter, notching 43 assists. Libero Jaime Beatty and Huitt each had a team-high nine digs in the match.

Against NAU, the Falcons came out strong, winning the first game. It looked as though they might go unbeaten in the tournament, but the Lumberjacks turned the momentum in their favor, winning the next three games. Diaz tied a career-high with 24 kills on 56 attacks with just five errors (.339 percent). Bishop had 14 kills in the match and Kristen Hamlett had a career-high 15 kills. Jefferson added 13 kills for the Falcons. Huitt had a career-high 53 assists, and grabbed the double-double with 14 digs. Beatty also had 14 digs for the Falcons. What hurt the Falcons was the blocks. They managed just two team blocks, while NAU had 14.

The Falcons improve to 3-8 overall. They are back in action Sept. 20-21, when they host another tournament. The Falcon Invitational will include teams from Hofstra, San Francisco and Stetson.

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