Air Force Academy
The Citadel
Falcons Claim 3-0 Victory Over The Citadel
9/2/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Air Force volleyball team closed out the Service Academy Challenge with a sweep of The Citadel on Saturday, Sept. 2. The Falcons, who won two out of three matches at their bi-annual tournament to improve to 4-3 on the season, defeated the Bulldogs in straight 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 sets.
Backed by an impressive .846 hitting percentage from senior Piper Heineck, the Falcons combined to hit over 400 in the match (.432). Heineck, who also paced the Falcons with five blocks (one solo, four assisted), registered 12 kills on 13 swings, with just one error. Freshman Kathleen Medill hit .600 on the day, with six kills and no errors on 10 attempts, while sophomore Denise Ssozi registered a .483 average, after recording a match-high 16 kills on 29 attempts and just two errors. Junior Shanleigh Conlan, who tallied 27 assists on the day, was one of five Falcons to record a service ace in the match (Jordan Daniels, Heineck, junior Lauren Heldt, Sarah Hellman). Daniels and Ssozi rounded out the Falcons' statistical leaders with six digs apiece.
Air Force scored the first two points of the match, following an ace by Conlan and a kill from classmate Abigail Miksch. The Bulldogs evened the score two plays later, but the Falcons scored four of the next five points to double their opponents up at the 6-3 mark. The teams traded points, with the Falcons earning multiple scores from Heineck, Miksch and Ssozi (16-12). Air Force stretched its advantage to five at the 18-13 mark, before the Bulldogs closed the game to two at 21-19. A kill from Medill and an ace from Heldt put the Falcons at set-point (24-19), while Ssozi put down the deciding kill that secured the opening 25-20 victory.
Heineck put down a kill to start the second set, but the two squads traded the next 12 points in a back-and-forth opening. With the Falcons leading 7-6, the Falcons relied on the block to extend their advantage to five (11-6). Conlan and Heineck teamed up on back-to-back stops to open the run, while Heineck added a kill, a solo block and joined Miksch for an assisted block. Citadel responded with the next four points to pull within one (11-10), but Air Force answered with the next three points (14-10). The teams traded the next several points, but Heineck, Ssozi (two), Miksch (two) and Medill (two) helped Air Force take the set by a 25-18 margin.
The Citadel struck first to start the third set, but Heineck put down a kill that sparked an 8-0 run by the Falcons. With freshman Alex King at the serving line, Ssozi (two), Heineck and Heldt recorded kills to go up 8-1. Ssozi tallied the next two kills to put the Falcons in double figures (10-2), while Medill recorded a kill and teamed up with classmate Brynn Sulte for a block on back-to-back plays to give Air Force its largest lead of the match (10 points, 16-6). The Bulldogs scored six of the next eight points to cut the Falcons' lead to six (18-12) and then used another five-point run to pull within four (21-18). Two Citadel attacking errors put the Falcons at match-point, while a block by Medill and Ssozi secured the 25-18 victory for the Falcons.
Air Force is now 4-0 in its all-time series with Citadel.
After spending the first two weeks of the season on the road, Air Force returns to the Academy next week to begin its home schedule. The Falcons will host Liberty and Southern Utah at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic, which will be held on Sept. 8-9 at Cadet East Gym.
