Air Force Academy
Wyoming
Air Force Falls to Wyoming in Three
10/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2009
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Playing in just its second home match of the season, the Air Force volleyball team fell in straight sets to Mountain West Conference opponent Wyoming on Thursday, Oct. 8. In front of rambunctious crowd of 613, the Falcons fell in straight 25-15, 25-20, 25-14 sets to the visiting Cowgirls.
It was an error-filled match on both sides of the net, as the two teams combined for 40 errors, while accounting for just 59 kills.
Junior Nichole Stilwell paced the Falcons with eight kills, while classmate Caroline Kurtz added seven. Those two were the only Falcons to hit at a positive clip, with Stilwell pacing the squad at .160. Fellow junior Jessica Hellmann assisted on 18 of the team's 22 kills.
Defensively, the Falcons combined for 10 assisted blocks and out-blocked the Cowgirls 5-4 in total blocks. Stilwell assisted on four, while Kurtz and Hellmann added three and two, respectively. Junior Kelly Spencer collected a team-high 11 digs, while freshman Maiya Perich added nine.
The Cowgirls also accounted for nine service aces, while the Falcons were held without an ace for the first time this season.
Wyoming jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed in the set. The Falcons pulled within two at the 13-11 mark, but the Cowgirls used an 8-2 run to take the 25-25 victory.
While the Cowgirls had dominated the opening minutes of the first set, the Falcons did the same in the second. Thanks to five Wyoming errors and a kill by Stilwell, Air Force jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Kurtz and Stilwell combined for three straight points to up the lead to 9-3, but Wyoming tallied the next six points to tie the set at nine. The two teams traded points, until Wyoming pulled away at the 20-16 mark. Freshman Grace Konstanzer added a kill to put the Falcons at 20 points, but the Cowgirls took the set 25-20.
Wyoming used several long scoring runs to jump out to a 14-4 lead and advanced that to 20-9. Air Force added 10 more points, but Wyoming secured the match with a 25-14 victory.
Air Force remains at the Academy this Saturday (Oct. 10), as it hosts Colorado State in another conference matchup. The first serve is scheduled for noon at the Academy's Clune Arena.
