Falcons Head to Denver for Pioneer Classic
9/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Air Force volleyball team returns to action this weekend, when it travels to Denver for the annual Pioneer Classic. The Falcons, who are 1-3 after the opening weekend, will face first-time opponents Villanova and UT Arlington, as well as long-time foe Denver, over the Sept. 4-5 weekend at Hamilton Gymnasium.
Meet Notes 02: at Pioneer Classic 
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Sept 4: Villanova vs Air Force – 4:00 p.m.
Sept 4: Denver vs UT Arlington – 7:00 p.m.
Sept 5: UT Arlington vs Villanova – 10:30 a.m.
Sept 5: Denver vs Air Force – 12:30 p.m.
Sept 5: Air Force vs UT Arlington – 5:00 p.m.
Sept 5: Denver vs Villanova – 7:30 p.m.
McSHANE INTERVIEW WITH FALCONVISION
Head coach Matt McShane sat down with FalconVision to talk about the opening weekend of the season.
FOLLOW ALONG FROM HOME
Live stats will be available for all matches of the Pioneer Classic via DenverPioneers.com, while Air Force's match with Denver will be streamed live on the site for a fee. That match will also be simulcast on Altitude 2.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
All three of the Falcons' opponents enter the second week of the season with matching 2-1 records. Villanova defeated Stony Brook (3-1) and Buffalo (3-0), before falling to top-ranked Penn State (0-3) at the PSU Classic, while Denver beat CSU Bakersfield (3-0) and San Diego State (3-1), before losing to San Francisco (1-3) at the USF Invitational. Hosting the Maverick Classic, UT Arlington swept Campbell and Grambling State, before falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in five.
SERIES HISTORY
In an all-time series that dates back more than 30 years, Air Force holds a 35-12 advantage over Denver. That record includes a 29-2 entry during the Falcons' Division II days and a 6-10 mark at the Division I level. Air Force is 12-9 against Denver when playing on Pioneers' home court. This weekend will mark the first meetings with Villanova and UT Arlington.
COURT RECORDS FALL IN SEASON OPENER
Rachael Bradley Powers accounted for a Falcon Court record seven aces against Montana on Aug. 28, shattering the previous record of four that eight people had initially held. With those aces, Bradley Powers paced Air Force to a new team mark of 12, which bettered the old mark of 11 that the Falcons set in 2012. Shanleigh Conlan added a pair of aces in the match, while Akokwe Clement, Savannah Banyai and Rebecca Bates each recorded one.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Following a 52-dig opening weekend, Rebecca Bates moved from fourth to second on the program's DI list for career digs, with 957 total. Taylor Parker, who tallied 16 assisted blocks to move from ninth to sixth on the assisted blocks list (161), compiled 18 total blocks for the weekend to move from eighth to seventh.
FUN FACT
With a kill against Arizona State on Aug. 29, libero Rebecca Bates has tallied a kill in eight career matches. Three of those scores came against teams from the Pac-12 (Arizona State in 2015, California in 2014, Stanford in 2013), including two (#16 Arizona State, #8 Stanford) that were nationally ranked.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force heads to the East Coast next week for a busy week of competition that includes four matches in five days. The Falcons will visit Navy on Tuesday, Sept. 9, before hosting Army, California and Harvard at the Service Academy Challenge in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va., on Sept. 11-12.
