Air Force Volleyball Drops 3-0 Contest to UNLV

Sept. 24, 2016

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Air Force volleyball team closed out the opening weekend of Mountain West action with a 3-0 loss to UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 24, in Las Vegas. The Falcons, who fell to 9-6 on the season and 0-2 in conference play, dropped straight 25-23, 25-16, 25-10 sets to the host Rebels.

Sophomore Abigail Miksch led the team with 11 kills, while sophomore Sarah Hellman recorded 13 assists and junior Piper Heineck registered three blocks. Hellman also shared the team lead in digs (five, with senior Savannah Banyai and sophomore Shanleigh Conlan) and service aces (one, with Banyai and sophomore Ariana Mosley).

Hellman opened the match with a service ace, which led Air Force to an early 4-1 lead. Heineck recorded a pair of blocks, as she teamed up with Miksch (5-2) and sophomore Elizabeth Pennington (6-4), but UNLV evened the score at six. Pennington (7-6) and Heldt (9-7) put down kills that kept Air Force in the lead, while Abbey scored three straight Air Force points (11-8, 12-10, 13-11). The Rebels evened the score at 13, but Pennington put down a score on the ensuing play. The squads traded the next two points, before the Rebels took their first lead at the 16-15 mark. A kill from Heldt evened the score at 17, while two UNLV serving errors brought the Falcons to 18-all and 19-all. The teams continued to trade points, with Air Force knotting the score behind a pair of Pennington kills (20-all, 21-all), a UNLV attacking error (22-all) and a kill by Miksch (23-all). UNLV finally broke the back-and-forth action that had occurred over the previous 16 plays and scored the final two points for the 25-23 victory.

Miksch struck first in the second set, while a kill from Pennington tied the score at four. The Rebels tallied 10 of the next 11 points to take a 14-5 lead, before Miksch (kill) and Mosley (ace) put down back-to-back scores (15-8). UNLV posted another 4-0 run (19-8), while Hellman and Heineck put down a pair of scores that put the Falcons in double figures (20-10). Three errors, as well as a kill from Miksch and a block from Heineck and Banyai, added to the Falcons' tally, but UNLV took the second set 25-16.

The Rebels took a fast 7-2 lead, before Miksch (7-3), Pennington (8-4) and Heldt (10-5) added scores. Additional kills from Pennington and Miksch broke up a 12-2 run by UNLV that increased the Falcons' deficit to 22-7. Banyai registered an ace and Miksch put down a kill, but the Rebels took the set 25-10.

Air Force returns to the Academy next week to begin a conference stretch that includes four matches in one week. The Falcons open the homestand against Nevada on Thursday, Sept. 29, before taking on San Diego State (Oct. 1), Boise State (Oct. 4) and Utah State (Oct. 6).

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