Air Force Academy
UNLV
Air Force Defeats UNLV in Straight Sets
10/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2015
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team picked up its first victory over UNLV in 16 years, as it swept the Rebels 25-21, 25-17, 25-21 this evening (Oct. 15) at the Academy's Cadet East Gym. The victory marked the program's first win over UNLV since Oct. 23, 1999 and improved the Falcons' home record to 6-4 this season.
Senior Akokwe Clement and sophomore Shelley Spires paced all players with 15 kills each – a combined total (30) that surpassed that of the entire Rebels' squad (28). Spires also led the match with a .571 average, earning her 15 kills on 21 swings with just three errors. Freshman Elizabeth Pennington registered six blocks on the night, including a pair of solo blocks, while classmate Sarah Hellman posted 25 assists. Pennington and Hellman also posted the team's two service aces, while senior Rebecca Bates rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders with 17 digs.
Despite a kill from senior Taylor Parker, the Falcons found themselves in an early 6-1 hole to start the match. UNLV extended its lead to six (10-4), before Spires halted the Rebels' run with a kill that sparked an 8-1 stretch by Air Force. The sophomore tallied half of the Falcons' points during that run, while Parker added another score and Pennington recorded her first service ace at Air Force. Back-to-back attacking errors by UNLV gave Air Force its first advantage at the 12-11 mark. The Rebels stayed within one (15-14), before a kill from Clement and a solo block by Pennington gave the Falcons' a three-point lead (17-14). The freshman recorded another unassisted block, while adding a kill, and sophomore Piper Heineck registered the deciding kill to give Air Force the 25-21 victory.
Air Force and UNLV traded points to start the second set, accounting for eight ties in the first 16 points. Clement and Pennington combined for three straight kills to break the back-and-forth action and put the Falcons up by four (12-8). Heineck and senior Maggie Sherrill notched back-to-back kills that extended Air Force's lead to six (15-9), while kills from Pennington and Parker book-ended a Sherrill/Pennington block to extend the advantage to seven (19-12). Backed by kills from Spires and Parker, as well as three straight UNLV errors, the Falcons collected a 25-17 victory – marking the first time since 2003 that Air Force had taken more than one set from the Rebels.
The Falcons got on the board first in the third set, while five combined kills from Clement (three) and Spires (two) helped Air Force take a 10-7 lead. Hellman served up an ace, while another pair of scores from Clement extended the Falcons' advantage to six (15-9). UNLV cut into the Falcons' lead, pulling within two at the 18-16 mark, but Spires (two) and Heineck (one) combined for three straight points to give Air Force a 21-16 lead. Clement put down the Falcons' final two points to secure the sweep with a 25-21 victory.
"What a win," head coach Matt McShane said after the match. "We played incredibly well, incredibly steady. We've talked about how serving and passing hasn't been good, but tonight it was really good. We served tough and made (UNLV) do things they didn't want to do. We were in system and the setters did a nice job of distributing the ball. We played incredibly well tonight."
The Falcons remain at the Academy on Saturday (Oct. 17), when they host Fresno State at 2:00 p.m.
