Air Force Academy
Nevada
Air Force Drops Conference Opener to Nevada
9/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Nevada this evening (Sept. 24) during the Mountain West opener for both teams. The Falcons snapped a three-match win streak at the Academy's Cadet East Gym and fell to 7-9 (0-1 MW) on the year following the 25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 16-25, 16-18 loss to the visiting Wolfpack (6-7, 1-0 MW).
Four Falcons reached double figures in kills, as Air Force played its sixth five-set match of the year. Freshman Elizabeth Pennington paced the team with 12 kills, while seniors Taylor Parker and Akokwe Clement each added 11. Sophomore Shelley Spires rounded out the quartet with 10 strikes. Senior Maggie Sherrill, who registered eight kills on the night, posted a match-high .533 hitting percentage, while both Parker (.500) and Pennington (.400) hit over .400 in the contest.
Freshman Shanleigh Conlan collected 24 assists, while classmate Sarah Hellman added 22. Senior Rebecca Bates posted a trio of service aces for the Falcons' offensive stat line, while Clement (two) and Conlan (one) combined for three more.
Bates also paced the squad defensively, tallying a match-high 17 digs. At the net, Parker collected a team-high five blocks (one solo, four assisted), while Clement added four (one solo, three assisted).
"It's disappointing," head coach Matt McShane said. "We're 0-1 in conference and we very much wanted to be 1-0 after tonight. It's a little bit of inconsistency, but we need to learn how to be better blockers. We had opportunities, but didn't do a very good job. We need to work on getting better blocks, but I think, overall, the rest of our game is good.
Air Force remains at the Academy on Saturday (Sept. 26) to host San Diego State at 2:00 p.m.
