Air Force Academy
Boise State
Air Force Falls to Boise State in Three
10/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2011
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force volleyball team dropped a three-set match to Mountain West newcomer Boise State on Saturday, Oct. 8, in its only match of the week. Despite tallying more kills, assists and digs than the visiting Broncos, Air Force fell in straight 25-13, 25-19, 25-17 sets.
"We got more kills (than Boise State)," head coach Matt McShane said. "We tried a new lineup tonight that I really liked. It opened up Ayesha and got her a bunch of good swings. Victoria also got some good swings being close to her. I'm proud of this team, because we're not giving up. There are areas where we need to get better, things we need to work on, but we're not giving up."
For the second straight match, Victoria Foster led all players in scoring. The freshman recorded 11 kills, while posting a .280 attack percentage (11k-4e-24k). Foster was the only player on either side of the net to record double-digit kill totals. Classmate Ayesha Hein, who tied sophomore Cami Richan for second on the team with six kills, posted a .284 hitting clip, connecting on six of 14 attempts with just two miscues.
Freshman Hillary Keltner recorded a match-high 21 assists, while sophomore Josalynn Wise added 11.Air Force added three service aces, including a pair of freshman Brooke Pottle. Junior Maiya Perich, who led both teams with 12 digs, recorded a point for the Falcons with a service ace, while freshman Kristen Holt posted the club's lone solo block.
Two long runs by the Broncos broke open a 6-6 tie in the first set, as Boise State advanced to 11-7 and 15-7. Sophomore Cami Richan put down kills to stop the visitors' runs, while a strike from Foster put the Falcons at the 10-point mark (19-10). Foster and Hein added kills, but Boise State took the set 25-13.
Boise State scored first in the second set, but the two squads traded points until Air Force tied the set at 10 off of a kill from Foster. BSU responded with the next four points to go up 14-10. Foster, Hein, Richan and sophomore Claire Bieber added kills, but the Broncos went on to win by a score of 25-19. The Falcons hit .367 in the match, connecting on 14 of 30 attempts, while committing just three errors.
The Falcons found themselves in an early 5-1 hole to start the third set, but a pair of kills from Holt and singles strikes from Foster, Hein and Pottle helped the Falcons even the score at nine. Service aces from Pottle book-ended a kill from Wise, as the Falcons went up 12-9. The Broncos tied the set at 13, but freshman Megan Clary put down a kills to give the Falcons back the lead at 14-13. Boise State scored the ensuing point and used a 10-3 run to close out the set by a 25-17 margin.
Air Force also posted a season-high attendance figure with a raucous, standing-room only crowd of 1,001. It is the second-highest total since returning to East Gym last year and the third time in McShane's tenure that the attendance has reached at least 1,000.
"The crowd was fabulous," McShane commented. "Just fabulous."
Air Force leaves the friendly confines of Falcon Court at East Gym next week to close out the first half of Mountain West Conference action. The Falcons will travel to San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 13, before heading to UNLV on Saturday, Oct. 15.
