Air Force Academy
SIU Edwardsville
Errors Cost Falcons at SIU-Edwardsville
10/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 11, 2008
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Costly errors doomed the Air Force volleyball team in a straight-set loss to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Saturday, Oct. 11. Accounting for 17 reception errors, the Falcons fell in consecutive 25-13, 25-16, 25-21 sets during their final non-conference match of the season at Lincoln Middle School in Edwardsville, Ill.
Senior Kristina Stewart led the Falcons with six kills, while junior Katie Batchelder added five. Stanford tallied 11 of the Falcons' assists, while classmate Jessica Hellmann added eight. Freshman Victoria Martinez accounted for 12 digs, while Batchelder added six. The Falcons tallied five service aces, highlighted by two apiece from junior Michelle Harrington and sophomore Stephanie Stanford.
Although the Falcons were out-aced by the Cougars (17-5), the Falcons out-blocked the host team by a 12-6 margin. Harrington, junior Jocelyn Booker and senior Jasamine Pettie each had three assisted blocks, while Batchelder, Stewart and Hellmann accounted for the other three.
Air Force fell behind in the first set by a 7-1 margin, before a Stewart kill halted the Cougars' assault. The Falcons pulled within three (12-9), but SIU-Edwardsville took the 25-13 victory. Highlighted by Stanford's two aces, the Falcons jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but the Cougars tied the set at five. SIU-E took the lead at 9-8 and never looked back, en route to the 25-16 win. Three reception errors and an out-of-rotation call caused the Falcons to fall into an early 4-0 hole to start the final set. The Falcons rallied to pull within one at 17-16 and tied the game at 19 with an ace from Harrington, but ultimately fell by a 25-21 margin.
The Falcons continue on the road next weekend, as they wrap up the first half of the Mountain West Conference season at TCU (Oct. 17) and New Mexico (Oct. 18).
