Air Force Academy
Texas Tech
Falcons Fall to Texas Tech in Non-Conference Finale
9/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Juniors Akokwe Clement and Maggie Sherrill paced the Falcons - and tied for the match lead - with 16 kills apiece, while senior Hillary Keltner notched a career-high 56 assists. Junior Raquel Rosas also surpassed the double-digit tally in kills, as she hit at a team-leading .500 clip behind 11 kills and two errors on 18 swings.
Defensively, junior Rebecca Bates recorded a career-high 31 digs - shattering her previous high total by 10 and becoming just the third Division I player to break the 30-dig mark in a match. Classmate Rachael Bradley Powers added 12 digs, while Clement picked up her fourth career double-double with an 11-dig output. At the net, fellow junior Taylor Parker led the team with a pair of assisted blocks.
The Falcons jumped out quick, scoring seven of the first 10 points and forcing the home team into an early timeout. Seniors Kristen Holt and Victoria Foster put down a pick of kills during the opening burst that saw the Air Force eventually go ahead 9-5. Texas Tech responded with four straight points to even the set at nine, before Sherrill put down a kill. Rosas (two), Clement and Foster combined for four of the next five points, as Air Force retook a four-point advantage (15-11). The two teams traded points for the next eight serves, before the Red Raiders pulled within one (19-18). Clement put down back-to-back kills to give the Falcons a 21-18 advantage and earned the Falcons' next two points (22-20, 23-21), while Air Force reached set-point off of a kill from Sherrill. Texas Tech used two straight points to tie the set at 24, before Holt and Sherrill scored back-to-back kills to give the Falcons a 26-24 win.
Air Force struck first in the second set, as Clement tallied a pair of kills to help the Falcons take an early 6-4 lead. The Red Raiders tied the set at six and took the lead on the ensuing point, but Air Force responded to tie the set at seven (Foster), eight (Sherrill) and nine (Holt). Air Force evened the score at 13 behind a trio of kills from Clement, Rosas and Sherrill, but Texas Tech used a 9-1 run to go ahead 22-14. Sherrill (two) and Parker added kills, but the Red Raiders evened the match at one with a 25-18 win.
Texas Tech scored the opening point in the third set, but a combined block from Clement and Rosas got the Falcons on the board. Kills from Clement (three), Keltner (five) and Sherrill (seven) kept the score even, while an attacking error by the Red Raiders tied the set once more at 12. Trailing by three (17-14), Rosas put down a kill to spark a 6-1 run by the Falcons. Sherrill and Parker teamed up for a block to give Air Force its first lead of the set (19-18) and combined for the Falcons' next three kills to put Air Force up 22-20. Texas Tech scored five of the final six points, to claim the set by a 25-23 margin.
Parker, Clement and Rosas helped Air Force to a 3-1 opening in the fourth set, while Keltner added back-to-back kills (5-3). Air Force maintained a two-point advantage behind kills from freshman Shelley Spires (6-4), Rosas (7-5), Sherrill (9-7), Parker (11-9) and Clement (12-10), while a score by Rosas on the ensuing play put the Falcons ahead by three (13-10). A kill from Sherrill and a block from Spires and Parker helped put the Falcons up five at the 19-15 mark, while Spires notched another kill to put the Falcons up 20-16. An attacking error by Texas Tech gave the Falcons set-point (24-22), but the Red Raiders scored the next three points to tie the set at 24 and take a 25-24 lead. Rosas tied the score at 25 and Spires put down a kill on the ensuing play (26-25), but Texas Tech matched the set at 26. Air Force once again took a one-point lead (27-26) following a kill by Sherrill, but the Red Raiders scored the final three to take the 29-27 game win.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Bates and Clement were named to the Lone Star Showdown's all-tournament team.
With the non-conference portion of the season in the books (6-8), the Falcons turn their attention to the opponents within the Mountain West Conference. Air Force begins league play on the road next week with trips to Nevada (Sept. 25) and San Jose State (Sept. 27).
