Air Force Travels to Utah State, Boise State
10/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Air Force volleyball team heads back out on the road this week for a pair of Mountain West matches. The Falcons (11-13, 5-5) will travel to Logan, Utah, on Thursday (Oct. 30) for a rematch with Utah State at 7:00 p.m., before heading to Boise, Idaho, for a 2:00 p.m., contest against Boise State on Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon.
Match Notes 10: at Utah State, at Boise State 
OPPONENT PREVIEW: UTAH STATE
Utah State, which is currently 9-11 on the season and 5-5 in the conference, is coming off of a winless road swing at Wyoming (1-3) and sixth-ranked Colorado State (0-3) last weekend. The Aggies, who defeated the Falcons 3-2 at the Academy in early October, hold a 3-0 advantage over Air Force in the all-time series. Utah State has a trio of players that average over 2.50 kills per set, including Rachel Orr (3.23), Kaitlyn Vanhoff (2.74) and Kaylie Kamalu (2.59), while Elle Brainard (1.53), Hannah Smith (1.38) and Vanhoff (1.30) all average at least 1.30 blocks per set.
OPPONENT PREVIEW: BOISE STATE
Boise State, who will face New Mexico on Thursday, 5-5 in the conference after falling to sixth-ranked Colorado State (0-3) and Wyoming (2-3) last week (12-10 overall). The Broncos boast three players that are ranked among the top-three in the Mountain West, including Sierra Nobley, who leads the league in kills with a 3.78 average. In addition, Sarah Baugh is ranked second in assists (11.10) and Kaitlyn Oliver is ranked third in hitting (.395). The Broncos are 7-2 all-time against Air Force, but the Falcons have claimed the last two victories in the series.
MAKING A NAME AMONG NATION'S BEST
With 1,028 total assists, Hillary Keltner is ranked fourth in the nation, according to the Oct. 27 release of NCAA stats. She is also listed 31st in assists-per-set, with an 11.05 average, while the team is listed ninth in total assists (1,197).
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
In conference matches, the Falcons are ranked among the Mountain West's top-five in three statistical categories. Individually, Hillary Keltner is ranked third in assists with an 11.05 per-set average. As a team, the Falcons are ranked third in kills (13.48 per set), third in assists (12.73 per set) and fourth in hitting percentage (.246).
PARKER NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Taylor Parker was named the Mountain West Player of the Week on Oct. 27 - marking the first time since 2010 (and just the eighth time ever) that an Air Force player has earned the conference's weekly award. Leading Air Force to a perfect 2-0 record last week, Parker hit for a .524 average, recorded a career-high total in kills, matched the Falcons' best blocking performance of the year and debuted on the program's Division I list for assisted blocks.
HISTORY 101
With its victories over San Jose State (Oct. 23) and Nevada (Oct. 25), Air Force improved its conference record to 5-5. The five victories are tied for the most in a single conference season since the Falcons joined Division I in 1996. Air Force's win over SJSU also served as the squad's 10th victory of the year, which marked just the third time in DI history that Air Force has reached a double-digit win total.
SWEEP THEM UP
The home-and-home wins over San Jose State and Nevada in 2014 marked just the fourth and fifth times since joining the Mountain West that Air Force has claimed multiple wins over the same school in the same season. The Falcons also hold season sweeps over Nevada (2012), New Mexico (2003) and Wyoming (1999, 2003).
BLOCK PARTY
Raquel Rosas and Taylor Parker made adjustments to the Falcons' Division I blocking records over the Oct. 23-25 weekend. The pair are now ranked eighth (123) and ninth (121), respectively, on the program's assisted block standings, while Rosas moved into ninth on the total blocks lists (138). Parker is just two stops shy of joining Rosas on the total blocks' top-10 list, while both Falcons have 15 solo blocks and are just seven outside of that list.
SEASON STATS
Hillary Keltner surpassed the 1000-assist mark for the third straight season following a 47-helper performance on Oct. 25, while Akokwe Clement's 10 kills in that match put her over the 300-kill plateau for the second-straight year.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The Falcons hit .355 against Nevada on Oct. 25, claiming 55 kills on 121 attempts and committing just 12 errors. That total is the squad's second-best attacking performance of the season, trailing only the .411 the team posted against Marist in the non-conference season (50k-11e-95a). So far this season, Air Force has surpassed the .350 average during five matches.
WHAT'S ON DECK
The Falcons return to the Academy next week for a conference contests against San Diego State and UNLV. Air Force will host the Aztecs on Thursday, Nov. 6, and the Rebels on Saturday, Nov. 8, with both matches scheduled for a 6:00 p.m., start.
