Volleyball Travels To Utah For Two Conference Matches
10/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2003
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COMING UP: The Falcons travel to Utah for a pair of Mountain West Conference matches this weekend. Air Force will face Utah on Friday, Oct. 31, in Salt Lake City. The Falcons then travel to Provo, on Saturday, Nov. 1, for a match-up with BYU.
AIR FORCE ACTION: Air Force went undefeated last week, topping Denver (3-1) on Tuesday, before sweeping New Mexico in three games on Friday night.
RECORDS: Records for the Falcons and their upcoming opponents are below:
Team (2003 / MWC)
Air Force (13-9 / 3-5)
Utah (13-7 / 7-2)
BYU (16-6 / 6-3)
AIR FORCE vs. UTAH: Air Force has never beaten Utah in 11 matches, dating back to 1997. The Falcons have won a combined three games in two matches during the 1999 season. Since that time, Utah has swept Air Force seven times; most recently on Oct. 4.
SCOUTING THE UTES: Utah is 13-7 on the season and 7-2 in Mountain West play. The Utes had a six-match win streak snapped by Colorado State on Oct. 25. Utah is averaging 15.21 kills per game and have only lost two matches at home this season. The Utes lead the MWC in hitting percentage during conference games (.271).
UTAH PLAYERS TO WATCH: Kim Turner leads the Utes with 3.93 kills per game and 1.51 blocks per game. She is second on the team in digs per game (2.25), behind Jackie Morrill, who has 3.45 dpg. Tracy Neumeier and Kelsie Kartchner lead the team in assists, with averages of 9.68 and 8.88, respectively.
AIR FORCE vs. BYU: The Falcons have defeated BYU just once in the team's history. Last season, Air Force upset BYU in Provo, marking the first time in school history that a women's team defeated the Cougars in a head-to-head match-up. AFA is currently 1-10 all-time against BYU.
SCOUTING THE COUGERS: BYU is 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the MWC. In league games, the Cougars lead the Mountain West in blocks (3.05 bpg) and digs (13.39 dpg). BYU averages 15.35 kills per game and have swept three conference opponents this season. Overall, the Cougars are hitting .253 this season, while holding the opposition to just .174 - both marks place them second in the conference.
BYU PLAYERS TO WATCH: BYU has two players that average over 3.30 kills per game - Kim Wilson (3.89) and April Varner (3.39). Lauren Richards leads the team in assists, with 11.35 helpers per game. Uila Crabbe posts a digs per game mark of 3.55, while Lindsey Hartsock averages 1.30 blocks per game.
HAVEN'T WE MET BEFORE?: The Falcons dropped matches to BYU and Utah earlier in the season at home. Air Force fell in five to BYU on Oct. 3, before being swept by Utah on Oct. 4. Molly White hit .600 against the Cougars - the second best percentage of the season.
MARKING UP THE RECORD BOOK: Delavane Diaz hit seven service aces in the Falcons' 3-1 victory over Denver on Oct. 21. Her seven aces set a new program Division I record for aces in a game. The previous record was six, which was set last season by Tiffany Bishop against UNLV.
ACES WILD: Along with Delavane Diaz's seven service aces, Rebecca Gallegos, Kristin Hamlett and Carly Siefken each tallied a pair in the Falcons' win over Denver. The 13 aces is a new Division I single-match record for the Falcons, besting the previous DI record of 12.
OH, WHAT A NIGHT!: The Falcons held Denver to just 11 points in the fourth game on Oct. 21, the fewest points scored by an opponent this season. The previous record had been 12, which the Falcons allowed Georgia State in the fifth game of a 3-2 Air Force win.
In games that went to 30 points, the previous opponent low had been 16. The Falcons defeated Marist 30-16 in the first game of the Aug. 30 match. (Air Force also defeated New Mexico 30-16 in the first game on Oct. 24).
HOME SWEET HOME: With the defeat of Denver on Oct. 21, the Falcons went a perfect 4-0 against non-conference opponents at Cadet East Gym this season.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Air Force's 3-0 win over New Mexico on Oct. 24, in Albuquerque, marks the first conference road win for AFA since the Falcons upset BYU 3-1 last season in Provo (Oct. 4, 2002). In fact, it was just the Falcons second conference road win since 2000.
HEY, SHORTY: At just five-feet, six-inches, Kristin Huitt is the shortest setter in the Mountain West Conference. Yet, that has not stopped her from being one of the league leaders in assists. Huitt currently ranks second in the conference, averaging 12.20 helpers per game.
SERVING UP: When it comes to service aces, Air Force boasts two of the top three servers in the conference. Carly Seifken leads the league with a 0.56 aces per game average, while Delavane Diaz is ranked third, averaging 0.43 aces.
SERVING UP SOME MORE STATS: Carly Siefken has served an astounding 41 aces this season to lead the Mountain West Conference. That is five more than teammate Delavane Diaz, who is ranked second in the conference with 34. Only two other players in the league have over 30 services aces on the season.
IRON MAN AWARD: 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.
IN FOR THE LONG HAUL: 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 three plays, Huitt has played in every minute of every game this season.
A NOTEWORTHY NUMBER: Air Force has defeated 10 non-conference opponents this year, for a record of 10-4. The 10 non-conference wins ranks second at the program's Division I level. The Falcons' Division I record for non-conference wins is 12, which was set in 1999.
WHAT A SEASON: When the Falcons defeated New Mexico (3-0) on Oct. 24, it brought the team's conference record to 3-5. It is the team's best conference record since 1999, when Air Force finished the season at 5-9. That season, Air Force finished fourth in the confernece. The Falcons have six matches remaining in the 2003 campaign.
NOT MISSING A STEP: Jenalee Burke, Delavane Diaz, Kristin Hamlett, Kristin Huitt, Lamecca Jefferson and Molly White have played in all 80 games for the Falcons this season. Brittany Edmonds (74 games), Carly Siefken (73 games) and Rebecca Gallegos (63 gmaes) have also seen significant playing time this season.
A HAPPY HOMECOMING: In returning to her home state of New Mexico, sophomore Rebecca Gallegos posted three service aces in the Falcons' 3-0 sweep over the Lobos on Oct. 24. The Las Vegas, N.M., native also posted two kills, one dig and two assisted blocks in the Falcons' win.
