Air Force Academy
San Jose State
Falcons Post 3-1 Victory Over San Jose State
10/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2015
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team posted a 3-1 victory over San Jose State at the Academy this afternoon (Oct. 31). The Falcons easily defeated the Spartans by matching 25-15 scores in the first two sets, splitting the final two sets by narrow 23-25 and 29-27 scores. The win improved the Falcons to 11-15 on the year, with a 4-7 record in Mountain West action.
Senior Akokwe Clement paced all players with 13 kills, while sophomore Shelley Spires added 11. Fellow sophomore Piper Heineck, who connected on five of nine kills with no errors for a .556 average, registered a career-high nine blocks in the match (one solo, eight assisted). Seven Falcons collected at least one block, as the squad combined for a 15.0 total (two solo, 26 assisted). Freshman Shanleigh Conlan recorded a team-high 25 assists, while senior Rachael Bradley Powers led the team in digs with 16. Backed by a pair of aces from seniors Taylor Parker and Rebecca Bates, Air Force recorded six total points from the serving line.
Back-to-back kills by freshman Elizabeth Pennington and a service ace from Parker gave the Falcons a quick 3-1 lead, while three kills from Clement, a solo block from Heineck, a block/kill combination on consecutive plays from senior Maggie Sherrill and an ace from Bates pulled Air Force out to a seven point lead (11-4). The Falcons extended their advantage to nine (15-9), before the Spartans used a burst of points to cut the lead to five (16-11). Pennington stopped San Jose State's run with a kill, while Sherrill and Parker each posted a pair of scores to help Air Force to a 25-15 victory.
The Falcons and Spartans traded the first eight points of the second set, before a 7-0 run by Air Force put the home team up 11-4. Bates notched another ace during the run, while Spires and Parker combined for three kills and teamed up for a block. The Falcons doubled up San Jose State (14-7) behind a Parker/Pennington block and a Bradley Powers ace, while a kill and block from Heineck pushed the Air Force advantage to nine (19-10). Spires, Parker and Clement combined for four kills and Heineck teamed up with Sherrill for another block as the Falcons scored six of the final eight points for the 25-15 win.
Air Force scored the first three points of the third set, but the Spartans responded with a 6-0 run to go ahead 6-3. Clement stopped the run with a kill, while a kill and solo stop on back-to-back plays from Heineck evened the set at seven. The squads traded points, with a score from Parker tying the score at 13. Air Force took a 17-15 lead behind a kill from Bates, an ace from Parker and a block from Heineck and Clement, while a score from Sherrill put the Falcons up three at the 20-17 mark. Despite a pair of kills from Spires, San Jose State scored the final four points to extend the match with the 25-23 victory. Heineck assisted on two blocks and put down a kill to start the fourth set, but San Jose State was the first team to reach the 10-point plateau (10-7). A pair of SJSU errors and a block from Parker and Spires helped Air Force tie the set at 10, while a kill and block from Parker gave Air Force a 14-13 advantage. Clement put down a kill that kept the score even at 16, but the Spartans recorded seven of the next 10 points to take a four-point lead (23-29). Back-to-back kills from Clement bought the Falcons within two (23-21), while a block from Clement and Heineck evened the score at 24-all. The squads traded points, with Sherrill putting down a kill to tie the set at 25 and another to give Air Force a 27-26 lead. With the score tied at 27, Air Force capitalized on two Spartan errors to secure the 29-27 victory.
"We did a great job tonight," head coach Matt McShane said. "We played incredibly well. We have to figure out a way to get (Akokwe) some split blocks. We had two hitters hit close to zero, but really, as a team, I thought that we did incredibly well. We out-played San Jose most of the afternoon and really did a nice job blocking. To (San Jose State's) credit, they came out and played much better in the third set. As we keep saying, we have to fight the entire time, but we are thrilled with the win."
Air Force remains at home next week, hosting 18th-ranked Colorado State on Thursday, Nov. 5, and Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 7.
