Falcons Fall in Home Finale to San Diego State

Nov. 12, 2011

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Despite recording their second-highest hitting percentage of the Mountain West Conference season, the Air Force volleyball team closed out the home portion of its schedule with a 3-0 loss to San Diego State on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Falcons lost 25-19 and 25-10 in the first two sets, before falling by a narrow 25-22 decision in the final set.

Air Force hit .188 for the match, accounting for 33 kills (17 errors) on 85 attempts. That is the second-highest average of the conference season, coming in only behind the .197 (43k-20e-117a) that Air Force hit against Wyoming.

Freshman Victoria Foster led the Falcons with nine points, while sophomore Cami Richan added eight and freshman Kristen Holt tallied seven kills on 14 swings (with no errors) for a team-best .500. Freshman Hillary Keltner recorded 16 assists, while sophomore Josalynn Wise added 14. Wise tied with junior Maiya Perich for the team lead with eight digs, while Perich accounted for the team's lone service ace.

The Falcons and Aztecs traded points at the beginning of the match, with Foster, Richan, freshman Lizzy Carpenter and Holt helping keep the score tied at seven. San Diego State pulled away from the Falcons and despite kills from Holt (two), Foster (two), Hein and Richan, the Aztecs won the first set 25-19.

Long scoring droughts doomed the Falcons in the second set, as Air Force quickly found itself down 15-5. Richan and Foster (two) collected kills while a score by Hein put the Falcons at the 10-point plateau, before the Falcons fell by a 25-10 margin.

The Falcons opened the third set in a 3-0 hole, before Holt put down back-to-back kills to bring the Falcons within one (3-2). San Diego State used a 7-1 run to go up 10-3 and continued to maintain a lead, including another seven -point lead at the 16-9 mark. A kill from Foster sparked the Falcons, who slowly started to cut into the Aztecs' lead. Perich's ace pulled the Falcons within four (17-13), a kill from Carpenter brought it within three (20-17) and a kill from Richan cut the deficit to just one (21-20). Richan and Holt added kills, but SDSU completed the sweep with a 25-22 win.

"We had some flashes of brilliance once again," head coach Matt McShane said. "I'm disappointed, but not discouraged. We hit .367 and out-hit them in the last set. Victoria hit .353, Ayesha hit .231 and Kristen went seven-for-14. We keep getting better. At times, we do some great things." Air Force travels to Albuquerque, N.M., next weekend for the 2011 Mountain West Volleyball Tournament. The Falcons, the eighth seeded team in the tournament, will face top-seed Colorado State in quarterfinal action at 6 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 18.

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