Air Force Academy
Utah State
Falcons Close Homestand with 3-1 Loss to Utah State
10/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2016
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Despite four players posting double-figure kill totals, the Air Force volleyball team closed out its two-week homestand with a 3-1 conference loss to Utah State on Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Academy's Clune Arena. In a match that featured 38 ties and 16 lead changes, the Falcons (9-10, 0-6 MW) dropped a 19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25 decision to the visiting Aggies (7-9, 2-3 MW).
Freshman Denise Ssozi led all players with 16 kills, while sophomore Abigail Miksch (12), classmate Elizabeth Pennington (11) and junior Piper Heineck (10) also posted double-digit kill totals, as the quartet accounted for 49 of the team's 56 kills. Heineck, who hit at a team-best clip of .318 (10k-3e-22a), assisted on a match-high six blocks, while Pennington added three service aces. Sophomore Sarah Hellman tallied 38 assists, while classmate Shanleigh Conlan, who led the team in digs with 13, posted her first double-double after posting a season-high 12 assists.
Heineck opened the scoring with a kill, while a kill from Pennington knotted the score at two. The sophomore registered a kill and ace as Air Force took a 4-2 advantage, while kills from Ssozi, Hellman and Miksch helped the Falcons maintain the lead. The Aggies evened the score at seven and took the lead on the ensuing play, but Pennington and Heineck teamed up on a block that evened the score at nine. Heineck added a second block, as she worked with Miksch to tie the set at 10. Utah State scored five of the next six points to go up four (15-11). Pennington, Ssozi, Heineck and sophomore Lauren Heldt added kills, but the Aggies continued to hold a four-point lead at the 20-16 mark. Pennington added a pair of kills, but Utah State took the opening set by a 25-19 advantage.
Heldt struck first in the second set, while kills from Heineck and Ssozi helped Air Force to an early 5-2 lead. The Aggies evened the set at five, but Ssozi and Heineck stopped the visitors' run with a block. The teams traded the next three points, before Utah State put down two straight points at the 9-7 mark. The Aggies pushed their lead to five (15-10) at the media timeout, before Heineck stopped their run with a kill. The junior added the Falcons' next two points, as she registered a kill and assisted with Hellman on a block (16-13). A kill from Miksch pulled Air Force within two (16-14), while a second score brought the margin back to two (17-15). Utah State scored the next three points, before Heldt put down a kill (20-16). The sophomore added the Falcons' next point (21-17), while Pennington accounted for a kill (23-19) and service ace (23-21). Ssozi added one final kill, but Utah State claimed the 25-22 win.
The Falcons took a fast 2-1 lead off of kill from Pennington, before the two teams traded the next eight points. Heineck put down the first two kills during that stretch, while Ssozi added a score at the 5-4 mark. Three straight errors from the Aggies pushed the Falcons' advantage to three (8-5). Pennington and Ssozi added kills, but Utah State pulled within one (10-9). Kills from Miksch gave Air Force a two-point advantage (12-10) and broke a 12-all tie, while a service ace from sophomore Ariana Mosley and a kill from Ssozi sent Air Force into the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. The Aggies scored the next six of the next seven points to go up 18-17, but Air Force evened the set at 19 behind a pair of attacking errors by Utah State. The teams traded points, with Air Force matching scores off of kills from Miksch (20) and Heineck (21, 22). Ssozi put down a pair of kills and the Falcons extended the match with a 25-23 victory.
The teams traded the first eight points of the fourth set, with Air Force garnering its scores from Heldt (kill), Miksch (kill, assisted block) and Heineck (assisted block). The Aggies scored three of the next four points to go up 7-5, but a kill from Ssozi and a service ace from Hellman evened the set at seven. Another back-and-forth series ensued, with Air Force earning its scores off of kills from Ssozi (8-7), Pennington (9-8) and Miksch (10-9). The Aggies strung together two straight points to take the lead (11-10) and pushed its advantage to two at the 13-11 mark. Ssozi put down a pair of scores that tied the set at 14 and gave Air Force the lead on the next point. Utah State retook the lead following back-to-back points, but Heldt evened the set (16) with a kill. Following a tie at 17-all, the Aggies finally broke the back-and-forth match with three straight points. Ssozi and Miksch added kills, while a score from Pennington put the Falcons at 20, but Utah State took the set by a 25-20 margin.
Air Force concludes the first half of its home-and-home conference season with road matches at Fresno State (Oct. 13) and San Jose State (Oct. 15).
