Oct. 6, 2006
Box Score
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force volleyball team dropped straight sets to Colorado State in Mountain West Conference action on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Academy. Freshman Jocelyn Booker posted a career-best .545 hitting percentage (7 kills-1 error-11 attempts), but the Falcons dropped consecutive 30-14, 30-20, 30-16 sets to the visiting Rams.
Freshman Katie Batchelder led the Falcons with eight kills, while Booker's seven strikes were second. Junior Kim Kallabis collected 21 assists and tied with sophomore Ellen Bina for a team-high eight digs. Batchelder and junior Rebecca Gerton earned the team's two aces, while Gerton assisted with freshman Michelle Harrington on the team's lone block.
Colorado State rolled out to the early 6-0 lead, but an ace by Batchelder stopped the Rams' scoring. CSU embarked on another long serving series to pull the game out to 11-3, but the Falcons rolled off three points of their own, behind back-to-back kills from Booker and an ace from Gerton. The Rams used several more long serving streaks to take the first game by a 30-14 score.
Booker and Harrington helped Air Force earn the first two points of the second set. Air Force kept its lead as Kallabis earned a kill on a dump-over. Kills by Pettie and Booker kept the Falcons in the lead, but Colorado State finally tied the set at seven. The two teams traded points until CSU finally took a two-point advantage. Kallabis and Gerton put down kills, but CSU started to extend its lead. Air Force fought back and pulled it to within two at the 20-18 mark, but the Rams used 10 of the next 12 points to take the second set 30-20.
One CSU error and kills from Batchelder and Booker gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead to start the third game. Colorado State returned the favor with the next three points, but Air Force regained the advantage with another Batchelder kill. The two squads went back and forth trading leads, but Colorado State used a quick scoring spurt to double up on Air Force at 10-5. The Falcons continued to collect points, but Colorado State went on to claim the third and final set by a 30-16 mark.
The Falcons close out the first round of conference play next weekend, as they host San Diego State (Oct. 13) and UNLV (Oct. 14) at the Academy. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m., in Clune Arena.
