Air Force to Open Season Hosting 2010 Falcon Invitational
8/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2010
A new era begins for the Air Force volleyball team this weekend, as it hosts the 2010 Falcon Invitational at the Academy on Aug. 27-28. The Falcons, under the direction of first-year head coach Matt McShane, will welcome Boise State, Long Island and South Dakota State to the new Falcon Court at East Gym for the two-day, six-match tournament. Air Force will host Long Island in the season opener at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
Match Notes 01: Falcon Invitational
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Friday, Aug. 27: South Dakota State vs. Boise State (5 p.m.)
Friday, Aug. 27: Air Force vs. Long Island (7 p.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 28: Boise State vs. Long Island (11 a.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 28: South Dakota State vs. Air Force (1 p.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 28: Long Island vs. South Dakota State (5 p.m..)
Saturday, Aug. 28: Air Force vs. Boise State (7 p.m.)
YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GYM
Live stats will be available for all six matches of the Falcon Invitational, while audio and videostreaming will be offered only for the three Air Force matches. The "watch" link is available on the Air Force volleyball schedule. Audio will be provided for the webcast by KAFA, the Academy's cadet-run radio station. An audio-only feature is available on 97.7FM in the Colorado Springs area or nationally online, via usafa.org.
MARKETING 101
The first 200 fans will receive a free mini volleyball on Friday night to kick off the season opener. In addition, several ticket offers are happening that night, including TEAM NIGHT (free admission for youth players with jersey; $1 tickets for high school players with roster); CAMP REUNION (free admission for campers and family members); FAMILY FRIDAY ($1 tickets for groups of four or more). Fans can redeem their ticket stub from Friday's match to gain free admission to either match on Saturday.
DON'T FORGET … WE'VE MOVED!
After a four-year absence, Air Force returned to the Cadet Gymnasium for the 2010 season, playing all of its matches in the renovated Falcon Court at East Gym.
YOU LOOK VERY FAMILIAR
Long Island is coached by Kyle Robinson, who spent two seasons (2006-07) as an assistant coach at Air Force. Since taking over the LIU reigns, Robinson has amassed a 40-26 record, two Northeast Conference championships and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the Blackbirds' assistant coach, Jen Robinson, was senior Emily Frick's club coach at Club Stellar in Colorado Springs.
WE'LL BE SEEING YOU
Air Force has only faced Boise State once before, falling 3-0 to the Broncos during the 1998 season. Following this season, the two programs will face off twice a year, as the Broncos will join the Mountain West Conference in time for the 2011 season.
A NEW DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
Long Island is the first of six teams Air Force will face this year that participated in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Joining LIU on the non-conference slate is Northern Colorado and Army, while Colorado State, New Mexico and TCU all represented the Mountain West Conference at the national tournament.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Although it's the first week of the season, there is still a need to watch out for some movement in the program's Division I record book. Jessica Hellmann is just 59 assists away from fourth on the career list, while Nichole Stilwell is just two assisted blocks away from cracking the top-five in that category.
IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
Over half of the Air Force squad has some familial connection to the Air Force Academy prior to their appointment. The fathers of Preslee Maki, Jacqueline Norton, Victoria Perkins and Josalynn Wise all graduated from the Academy, while siblings of Caitie Campbell, Caroline Kurtz and Jamie Stewart are also in the Association of Graduates. In addition, Claire Bieber's sister is currently a junior at the Academy and Maiya Perich's brother is a senior.
THE YOUNG WILL LEAD
With seven freshmen on its roster, Air Force is ranked among the national leaders in terms of the size of its youngest class. Ranked eighth, Air Force is one of eight programs with seven true freshmen in its lineup. Penn State, San Diego State, South Carolina and UMBC hold the national lead with nine true freshmen.
LEADING THE WAY
For the first time in the 34-year history of the Air Force volleyball program, the Falcons will have three team captains, as seniors Julia Hansen, Jessica Hellmann and Caroline Kurtz will share the captaincy duties. It is just the 12th time ever that more than one player has held the captain's position.
