Air Force Academy
UNLV
Air Force Drops 3-0 Decision to UNLV
10/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2011
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Air Force volleyball team closed out the first half of the Mountain West Conference season with a 3-0 loss to UNLV on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Las Vegas, Nev. Nine Falcons tallied at least one kill as the Falcons fell in 25-20, 25-17, 25-16 sets.
Sophomore Cami Richan opened the match with a kill, but UNLV jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead. Freshman Hillary Keltner put down a kill to stop the Rebels' 8-0 run, while classmate Victoria Foster and Richan added kills to make the score 14-5. Air Force cut into the Rebels' advantage, scoring nine of the next 13 points. Foster and fellow freshman Ayesha Hein put down kills, while junior Maiya Perich collected her second kill of the season to cut the UNLV lead to four at 19-15. Richan, classmate Claire Bieber and freshman Megan Clary added kills, but UNLV claimed the set 25-20.
An out by UNLV and a kill from freshman Kristen Holt gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead to start the second set. Richan and freshman Megan Clary added scores, as the Falcons boosted their lead to 6-3. Kills by Foster, Hein and Richan helped Air Force maintain a two point lead at 10-8. UNLV responded with five of the next six points to go up 13-11, before a pair of Rebel errors and a kill by Hein evened the score at 14. UNLV broke the tie with the next seven points. Bieber and Richan added kills to the Falcons' tally, but the Rebels took the set 25-17.
The third set started with a pair of points for the Rebels, but kills from Bieber and Holt helped Air Force even the score at three. A score by Richan put the Falcons up 5-3, but UNLV scored nine of the next 10 points to take a 13-6 lead. Freshman Lizzy Carpenter and Holt put down a kills, while Foster and Hein teamed up for block to bring it back within five (17-12). Richan and Holt accounted for another pair of kills, but UNLV scored five of the final six points to go up 25-16.
Richan paced the Falcons with eight kills, committing just three errors on 27 attempts to record a .185 hitting percentage. Foster added five kills, while Hein and Holt each tallied four. Holt posted a team-high clip of .375, connecting on four of eight attempts, while recording just a single error. Keltner and sophomore Josalynn Wise, who recorded the club's lone service ace, each tallied 12 assists. Perich added 10 digs, while Richan, Foster, Hein and Holt each tallied an assisted block.
"We are halfway through the season," head coach Matt McShane said. "The second half is going to be better. I am pleased with our improvement, but we need to get the hitting to improve like out setting and passing. We need to stop being freshmen and start playing like sophomores. Most teams look at the postseason for that, but I think that we can start that with the second half of the conference season."
Air Force returns to the Academy on Thursday, Oct. 20, when it hosts Wyoming in its annual Pink Match at 7 p.m. The weekend, which concludes with a 1 p.m., match against Colorado State, is the Falcons' second annual Alumni Weekend.
