Air Force Academy
BYU
Air Force Falls In MWC Tournament Quarterfinals
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 20, 2003
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Air Force volleyball team ended its season at the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Tournament in San Diego, Calif. The sixth-seeded Falcons fell in three to the third-seed BYU in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, Nov. 20. Air Force dropped games of 30-22, 30-20 and 30-23 to the Cougars. With the loss, Air Force ended its season 14-15. BYU, who will take on Utah tomorrow, has a record of 21-7.
Runs were the name of the game, as both teams embarked on several runs throughout the first game. Air Force took the first point on a kill by Delavane Diaz (Tampa, Fla.). The Cougars took a 3-0 run to attain the lead, but Air Force quickly tied it up at four on a block. After another BYU run and an Air Force time out, it was the Falcons turn to take a streak of four consecutive points to bring the game within one. Kristin Hamlett (Escondido, Calif.) posted two kills during the run, while Molly White (Lafayette, La.) had one and Brittany Edmonds (Grand Junction, Colo.) added an ace. Then, BYU held the Falcons at nine points, while tallying five straight, to take its final lead of the game. Air Force also recieved kills from Kristin Huitt (Fresno, Calif.), Lamecca Jefferson (Beeville, Texas) and Trier Bryant (Denver, Colo.), but the Cougars went on to take the game, 30-22.
The Cougars opened game two with the first point and moved out to a 4-1 lead, before Hamlett stopped the streak with a kill. BYU went on another run, putting the Falcons quickly down 10-3. A Diaz kill ended that run, but another was right on its heels and Air Force was down 15-7 at the midway point of the game. When the Cougars were up by a margin of 22-9, the Falcons exploded for seven striaght points, causing BYU to call a time out. Air Force pulled the game within five at 25-20, but the Cougars claimed the victory with a 30-20 margin.
Air Force again got down 10-3 at the start of the third game, but furiously fought back to tie the game at 10, rallying off seven consecutive points. The score tied up again at 11, behind a kill by White. BYU took another lead, but Air Force continued to hang around, pulling the game within three at the 23-20 mark. They kept it within three again at 25-22. Air Force was held to 23 points, as the Cougars added the final five points to claim the three-game win.
Diaz and White tied for the team lead with 11 kills apiece. The 11 kills were the second-most of any player on either team. White also posted a team-best .476 hitting percentage, connecting on 11 of 21 attacks, while only committing one error. She also added five blocks for the team. Kristin Huitt (Fresno, Calif.) posted 34 assists, while Edmonds and Jenalee Burke (Bakersfield, Calif.) led the team with seven digs apiece.
