Falcons Host Denver In Non-Conference Match
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2003
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COMING UP: The Falcons return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 21, when they host the Denver Pioneers at 7 p.m., in the Cadet East Gym. AFA then travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for a conference match-up with the Lobos of New Mexico, on Friday, Oct. 24.
AIR FORCE ACTION: The Falcons split a pair of league matches last weekend at the Cadet East Gym. Air Force swept Wyoming, 3-0, on Oct. 18, before being defeated 3-0 by MWC leader, No. 20 Colorado State, on Oct. 19.
RECORDS: Records for the Falcons and their upcoming opponents are below:
TEAM...........(2003/MWC)
Air Force ........(11-9/2-5)
Denver ...........(14-8/--)
New Mexico .......(3-10/0-7)
AIR FORCE vs. DENVER: The Falcons are 31-7 all-time against the Pioneers, including a nine-match win streak from 1992-96. AFA also boasted a 17-0 record over UD from1983-89. Air Force has defeated Denver in the last two matches played at the Academy (3-1 victories in 1999 and 2001).
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Denver is currently 14-8 on the season, following a three-match sweep by Western Kentucky on Saturday (Oct. 18). Four Pioneers have posted over 200 kills this season, while another two have notched over 140. Statistically speaking, Denver averages 14.6 kills, 13.76 digs and 2.54 blocks per game.
DENVER PLAYERS TO WATCH: Denver's Lisa Hunter leads the team with 3.31 kills per game. She is just five kills shy of 300 for the season. Ashly Ball has 944 assists on the season for an average of 11.80 apg, while teammate Shannon Parker averages 8.06 assists.
AIR FORCE vs. NEW MEXICO: Air Force swept New Mexico 3-0 to open the Mountain West Conference season at the Academy on Sept. 26. The win brought the Falcons' all-time record with the Lobos to 2-10. The only other AFA victory came in 1999, when Air Force swept New Mexico in three games.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS: New Mexico is struggling this season. The Lobos are in the midst of a 14-match losing skid and a 24-game winless streak. Although they have yet to win a MWC match this season, New Mexico is ranked third in the league in service aces, averaging 1.85 aces per game.
NEW MEXICO PLAYERS TO WATCH: Anna Reines leads New Mexico in kills, averaging 3.45 per game. Lindsay Smith and Monica Meihack lead the team in assists, with averages of 6.03 and 4.60, respectively.
HAVEN'T WE MET BEFORE?: When UNM and AFA last met, the Falcons snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Lobos. Lamecca Jefferson hit a team season-high .619 percent, as the Falcons finished the match hitting .371, notching 45 kills and just nine errors on 97 attacks.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Kristin Huitt has eight double-doubles this season and Delavane Diaz has seven. Only Wyoming's Michele Rauter (12) and BYU's Lauren Richards (9) have tallied more. Tallying a double-double against Wyoming (Oct. 17), Huitt now has 24 career double-doubles and ranks ninth overall in the conference and is fourth among active players. Diaz has 26 career double-doubles and ranks seventh on the all-time MWC list for double-doubles and is third among active players.
LEADING THE WAY: Delavane Diaz leads the Mountain West Conference in kills (4.93 kpg) and points (5.43 ppg), while Carly Siefken leads the league in service aces (0.55). Kristin Huitt is second in the conference in assists, with an average of 12.11 per game.
LEADING THE WAY, PART II: As a team, the Falcons are second in the conference in service aces (1.86 apg).
CHASING A RECORD: The Falcons' record for assists per game (apg) is 12.00, held by Tharommony In (1999). Kristin Huitt is currently averaging 12.11 apg. She is also chasing the single-season Division I record for assists with 1,249, also held by In. She currently has 884 assists with eight matches remaining.
CAREER HIGH DAY: Delavane Diaz notched 41 kills in the Falcons' win over Southern Mississippi, setting a new all-time Academy single match record for kills, besting the previous record of 38, set by Linda Samuelson in 1982. The 41 kills also shatters the previous Mountain West Conference record of 32 and is an NCAA season high for 2003.
MAKING A KILLING: Delavane Diaz already has 1,330 kills for her career - the most career kills in the Division I era. For her career, she is averaging 3.97 kills per game, which ranks second on the pro-grams' all-time career list. If she maintains her current average and the team plays at least 100 games this season, Diaz will have notched over 1,400 kills - seventh on the team's all-time list.
ACES WILD: Sophomore Carly Siefken is ranked among the top five in the Mountain West Conference for consecutive matches with an ace. Her 13 straight matches with an ace is fifth all-time in the conference, while she is fourth on the single-season list.
CONSECUTIVE MATCHES WITH AN ACE (TOP 5):
Andreya Downs, CSU - 19 (overall)
Andreya Downs, CSU - 18 (2002 season)
Kristen Vance, CSU - 15 (1999 season)
Robyn Gregg, SDSU - 14 (2001 season)
Carly Siefken, AFA - 13 (2003 season)
A PAIR OF POWS: The Falcons had gone the last two consecutive seasons (2001, 2002) without earning a Mountain West player of the week award. Already this season, Air Force has had two players win the weekly award. Delavane Diaz (Sept. 16) and Lemecca Jefferson (Sept. 30) have each been honored by the MWC. Diaz was the squad's last winner in 2000.
NATIONAL NOTICE: Enterning the Portland State tournament, two players were ranked in the national Top 10. Kristin Huitt was sixth in the nation in assists per game, averaging 13.86 apg, at the time. Delavane Diaz was averaging 5.75 kills, which was ranked eighth in the country. It was the first time in the team's Division I history that two players were ranked in the Top 10 nationally.
CAN'T GET HER OFF THE COURT: Senior Delavane Diaz has been a constant force on the court for the Falcons this season. Diaz has played in every game this season and has yet to leave the court during a match.
TOUGHING IT OUT: Senior Kristin Huitt should also recieve a mention when speaking of players who haven't seen the bench much this season. With the exception of a few plays in the Falcons' game against Colorado State on Oct. 18, Huitt has played in every minute of every game this season.
