Air Force Academy
San Diego State
Falcons Fall to San Diego State in Four
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Despite a season-high eight service aces, the Air Force volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to San Diego State on Thursday, Nov. 20, in San Diego, Calif. The Falcons dropped the first two sets by 25-18 and 25-14 margins, before rallying to win the third set by a 25-17 mark. The Aztecs responded with a 25-8 victory in the fourth set to clinch the match and give head coach Mark Warner a victory in his final home match (Warner is retiring after 27 years at SDSU).
The Falcons collected eight service aces in their best performance from the line all year. That total surpassed the previous best of seven, which had stood since the Sept. 6 match against North Carolina State.
Sophomore Caroline Kurtz paced the Falcons with three aces, a mark which tied classmate Jessica Hellmann's team-leading mark from Sept. 5. Fellow sophomore Stephanie Stanford added two, while Hellmann, classmate Kelly Spencer and senior Kristina Stewart each added one.
Junior Michelle Harrington led the Falcons (and tied for the best output by any player) with eight kills, while Stewart and sophomore Nichole Stilwell each added seven. In addition, senior Jasamine Pettie connected on six kills. Harrington also led the Falcons with a .263 hitting average. Spencer and Stanford tied for the team lead with seven digs, while Stanford also paced the Falcons with 28 assists. Pettie collected five assisted blocks, while Harrington added four.
Kurtz's first ace earned the Falcons the first point of the match, but San Diego State quickly compiled a 10-4 lead. Air Force cut into a late seven-point lead by San Diego State with Stewart's ace and a kill by junior Katie Batchelder, who split a kill past a pair of defenders following a long rally. Air Force pulled close again, but the Aztecs claimed the 25-18 win.
The Falcons found themselves in an early 10-3 hole to start the second set, but 7-1 run to pull within one at the 11-10 mark. Harrington accounted for three of those points, while Stilwell and Pettie added kills and Stanford recorded her aces on back-to-back serves. San Diego State pulled the lead out to 10, en route to the 25-14 win.
Air Force jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the third set and advanced the score to 8-2 off a kill and assisted block from Harrington, an ace from Kurtz and several Aztec errors. Stilwell claimed three kills and Stewart added a pair as the Falcons doubled San Diego State at 16-8. An 11-2 streak by SDSU brought the Aztecs to within one, but Kurtz served out the set for the 25-17 Air Force win. In addition to serving out, Kurtz added a pair of kills and another ace.
With the 25-17 win in the third, Air Force collected its third "set" win of the 2008 season. That marks the first time since 2005 that the Falcons have won at least three conference sets in a single season.
The third game also marked the first time this season that freshman Victoria Martinez did not play at the libero position, subbing out with Spencer. Martinez collected five digs during the first two sets and one during a defensive appearance in the third and is now just four shy (284) of entering the Falcons' NCAA Division I single-season top-three (288) in that category.
Stewart opened the scoring in the final set, but San Diego State rushed out to an 11-2 lead. Air Force earned a kill from junior Jocelyn Booker and aces from Spencer and Hellmann, but fell 25-8.
With her four assisted blocks tonight, Harrington vaulted from eighth to third on the program's Division I single-season list. By assisting on 66 stops to date, Harrington has had the best seasonal performance by any Air Force player since Molly White in 2003 (73 assisted blocks).
The Falcons conclude the 2008 season on Saturday, Nov. 22, when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to take on UNLV. It will be the second afternoon tilt of the conference season for Air Force, as action is slated to begin at 1 p.m. (PST).
