Air Force Academy
New Mexico
Air Force Drops 3-0 Contest to New Mexico
10/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2016
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to New Mexico in Mountain West action this evening (Oct. 22) at the Academy. The Falcons, who out-blocked the visiting team by an 8.0-3.0 margin and saw six Falcons account for defensive stops at the net, fell in straight 25-17, 29-27, 25-19 sets to the Lobos.
Junior Piper Heineck posted a match-high four blocks (all assisted), while sophomores Abigail Miksch (one solo, two assisted) and Elizabeth Pennington (three assisted) each added three and classmate Shanleigh Conlan earned a pair of assisted stops. Freshmen Denise Ssozi and Alina Vanecek each tallied one block, with Ssozi earning a solo stop and Vanecek posting an assist.
Pennington led the team in hitting, with a team-high nine kills on 20 attempts, with just three errors. Conlan tied her career-high with 27 assists, while classmate Julia Boswell posted a personal-best two service aces. Ssozi rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders, as she accounted for 13 digs.
Air Force opened the set with a block from Pennington and Heineck, but New Mexico responded with the next five scores to force the Falcons into an early timeout. Pennington stopped the Lobos' run with a kill, but New Mexico pushed its lead to six (8-2). Air Force earned its next four points off of UNM errors, before Heineck and Conlan teamed up for a block (12-7). Pennington put down a kill to pull the Falcons within three (13-10), but the Lobos pushed their lead back to six following a three-point run (16-10). The Falcons earned their next three points off of kills from Heineck (16-11), Vanecek (18-12) and Pennington (19-13), while Ssozi accounted for a kill (21-15) and a solo block (22-17). New Mexico held the Falcons at 17, as they scored the final three points for the 25-17 victory.
Pennington and Heineck teamed up for back-to-back blocks, while a service ace from Conlan gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead and caused the Lobos to call an early timeout. Heineck added a kill (4-2), but the Lobos evened the score at five. Air Force took a four-point lead (11-7), as Miksch put down a three kills and teamed up on a block with Vanecek. New Mexico pulled within one (11-10), before Ssozi stopped their run with a kill, and eventually evened the score at 13. Heineck broke the tie (14-13), but New Mexico scored the next three to go ahead 16-14. Air Force tied the set at 18, following a kill and an ace from Pennington, a kill from Vanecek, and a block from Miksch and Conlan. The Lobos took a two-point lead before an ace from Boswell evened the score at 20. Miksch put down a solo block and Heineck earned a kill, but the Lobos were the first to reach set point (24-22). A kill from Pennington and an ace from Ssozi evened the set at 24 and the two squads traded the next few points, with Vanecek putting down the next two Air Force points to tie the game at 25 and 26. The Falcons scored the next point off of UNM error, but the Lobos tallied the final three points for the 29-27 win.
Ssozi registered the Falcons' first point of the third set (1-1), but the Lobos took the lead two scores later and jumped out to an early 4-2 lead. Pennington and Ssozi added kills, but the Lobos used a 5-0 run to double-up the Falcons at the 12-6 mark. Ssozi stopped the run with a kill, while Heineck added a point at 13-8. The Falcons closed the gap to three (15-12), following an ace from senior Savannah Banyai and kills from Pennington and Vanecek. A kill from Miksch and another ace from Boswell cut the Falcons' deficit to two (16-14), but New Mexico responded with three of the next four points to go up by four (19-15). Ssozi, Pennington and Vanecek added scores, but New Mexico completed the sweep with a 25-19 win.
Air Force begins a three-match road swing next week, when they travel to San Diego State on Oct. 27.
