Falcons Open Second Half of MW Season at UNLV, New Mexico

Facing its first repeat opponents of the season, the Air Force volleyball team heads back out on the road this week for another pair of Mountain West matches. In the midst of their longest road swing of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons open the second half of the conference season facing UNLV in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 25, before heading to Albuquerque to take on New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 27.

FOLLOW ALONG FROM HOME
Live video and stats will be available for both contests. Direct links can be found on Air Force's schedule.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UNLV (15-7, 6-4) and New Mexico (11-11, 5-5) will face each other in Las Vegas on Tuesday before hosting the Falcons later in the week. UNLV split a weekend homestand with Wyoming (a 3-1 win) and Colorado State (a 1-3 loss), while New Mexico dropped both home contests (0-3 against Colorado State, 2-3 against Wyoming). The Rebels lead the league in service aces (2.07 per set) and are ranked third in the conference in hitting (.249), kills (13.07) and assists (12.10). Individually, Mariena Hayden leads the Mountain West in kills (4.55), aces (0.90) and points (5.68), while Kate Brennan is the current MW-leader in hitting (.361). The Lobos are ranked seventh in blocks, with a 2.08 average, while Lauren Twitty is listed fifth in kills (3.45) and seventh in points (3.95).

LAST TIME OUT
Air Force is 1-1 against this weekend's opponents in 2018, after splitting the first full weekend of conference action at the Academy in late September. The Falcons collected a 19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 victory over the Rebels on Sept. 28, before a 25-19, 17-25, 18-25, 25-23, 11-15 comeback fell just short against the Lobos on Sept. 30.

HISTORY 101
Air Force is currently 5-39 against UNLV and 5-36 against New Mexico in the all-time series with the two programs. The Falcons captured their first-ever road win over the Rebels last season (3-2) and are currently riding a two-match win streak against UNLV. Air Force, which did not face the Lobos on the road last year, are 1-18 in Albuquerque, with its only victory – a 3-0 sweep – coming in 2003.

STAT BLAST
Abigail Miksch and Elizabeth Pennington are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in both kills (3.38 for Miksch, 3.17 for Pennington) and points (3.86 for Miksch, 3.80 for Pennington) during conference contests, while Pennington also holds a No. 6 ranking in service aces (0.37). In addition, Cambria Galloway is ranked seventh in blocks (1.15) and Alex King is listed 10th in digs (3.00).

WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force returns to the Academy next week to open the final month of the season against its Front Range foes from Colorado State (Nov. 1) and Wyoming (Nov. 3).

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.