Falcons Travel to New Mexico, Host San Jose State
10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2015
Match Notes 10: at New Mexico, vs San Jose State 
In the midst of a whirlwind week of travel, the Air Force volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 27) evening, when it heads to Albuquerque for its first meeting of the year against New Mexico. Following that match – the Falcons' third road contest in a six-day span – the team will host San Jose State at the Academy on Saturday (Oct. 31)
FOLLOW ALONG FROM HOME
Live stats and video will be available for both matches.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
New Mexico is 12-10 on the season (5-4 in the conference) after splitting last week's contests at Nevada (3-1 win) and at San Diego State (2-3 loss). The Lobos are led by Devanne Sours, who averages over three kills a match, and Skye Gullatt, who holds a 1.23 block-per-set average. As a team, New Mexico is ranked among the conference's top four in hitting (.217, fourth) and blocks (2.58, fourth).
ALBUQUERQUE CONNECTIONS
Three Falcons have ties to this week's destination. Rachael Bradley Powers is a native of Albuquerque (Sandia High School), as is assistant coach Marc Swindle, a 1992 UNM graduate, who served as a volunteer coach for the Lobos prior to coming to the Academy. Head coach Matt McShane also worked with the New Mexico volleyball team, serving as the associate head coach from 1987-2000.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San Jose State, who will travel to New Mexico before heading to the Academy, is currently 12-11 on the season and 4-6 in Mountain West play. The Spartans split last weekend's action, falling to UNLV and defeating Fresno State in four-set matches. San Jose State is ranked second in the conference in service aces, with a 1.39 per-set average in all matches.
SERIES HISTORY
New Mexico holds a 32-3 margin over Air Force, with the Falcons' last victory in the series coming in Albuquerque in 2003. San Jose State, who swept the Falcons earlier this season, leads the all-time series by a 5-3 mark, although the Falcons have claimed the last two victories at the Academy.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Akokwe Clement is ranked second in the Mountain West in both kills (3.86) and points (4.43), while Rachael Bradley Powers holds the same placement in service aces (0.41). As a team, the Falcons are ranked third in aces (1.33) and hold additional top-five standings in kills (fourth, 12.59), assists (fourth, 11.74), hitting (fifth, .213) and blocks (fifth, 2.12).
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Akokwe Clement is ranked second on the program's Division I career list for kills (1372) and eighth on the Academy's all-time list in that category. Maggie Sherrill is ranked sixth in DI career kills (966), while Rebecca Bates and Rachael Bradley Powers are both listed on a pair of DI career lists. Bates is currently ranked second in digs (1217) and ninth in service aces (76), while Bradley Powers is listed sixth in aces (81) and seventh in digs (828).
LET'S HAVE A BLOCK PARTY
Three Falcons have made major adjustments to the Academy's Division I blocking categories this season. Taylor Parker and Raquel Rosas, who became just the fifth and sixth players in DI history to surpass 200 assisted blocks, are ranked third (229) and fifth (205), respectively, in that category. Parker is also ranked fourth in total blocks (261) and eighth in solo stops (32), while Rosas is listed sixth in all blocks (233) and ninth in solos (28). Akokwe Clement, who debuted on all three lists this year, is ranked eighth in assisted blocks (160), ninth in total blocks (186) and 10th in solo blocks (26).
MAKING HISTORY
The Falcons' 25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 22-25, 17-15 victory over San Diego State on Oct. 22 marked the program's first-ever victory on the Aztecs' home court. With the win, Air Force, which had lost the first 18 road matches in the series, earned a season sweep over SDSU for the first time in program history.
DID YOU KNOW?
With its win on Oct. 22, Air Force has claimed three straight victories over San Diego State – a streak that dates back to last season – after posting just two wins in the first 36 meetings of the all-time series. Head coach Matt McShane has been on the bench for four of the Falcons' five victories over the Aztecs.
CLEMENT NOTCHES ANOTHER 20-KILL MATCH
Akokwe Clement collected the seventh 20-kill match of her career during Air Force's 3-2 victory over San Diego State on Oct. 22. The senior registered a career-high 28 kills to lead the Falcons to victory. It is her fourth 20-kill match of the year, as she also surpassed that plateau at Denver (21), Army (27) and California (24).
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force remains at the Academy next week, when it hosts Colorado State (Nov. 5) and Wyoming (Nov. 7) at the Cadet East Gym.
