Air Force Earns Thrilling 3-2 Victory over Maryland

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Air Force volleyball team completed the Saturday Sweep this evening (Aug. 25), as it captured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Maryland at the Spartan-Demon Deacon Classic in Winston-Salem. The Falcons, who improved to 2-1 on the short season, defeated the Terrapins 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 15-12 for the Falcons' first-ever victory over a member of the Big 10 Conference.

Junior Denise Ssozi (17), senior Abigail Miksch (16) and classmate Elizabeth Pennington (15) combined for 48 of the team's 63 kills, while sophomore Andi Ahlers added three service aces and a career-best 32 assists. Defensively, sophomore Alex King registered 21 digs and Ssozi earned a double-double with 12 more, while senior Lauren Heldt and sophomore Kathleen Medill paced the team with three blocks (one solo, two assisted for Medill; three assisted for Heldt).

Maryland jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, but a pair of kills from Ssozi, as well as a block from sophomore Cambria Galloway and Heldt, helped Air Force tie the set at five. The Terrapins scored the next four points, but three kills from Miksch saw the Falcons even the score at 11-all. Maryland retook the lead on the next point and extended that to three (16-13), before breaking the set open with a 6-1 run (22-15). Miksch teamed up with Galloway for a block and added a pair of kills to pull the Falcons within four (23-19), but Maryland took the opening set by a 25-21 margin.

The Falcons came out strong in the second set, scoring seven of the first nine points, en route to an early 9-4 lead. Miksch (kill, ace), Galloway (kill, block) and Heldt (kill, block) all tallied multiple points during the run, while a kill from King and a service ace from senior Sarah Hellman pushed Air Force's advantage to nine (15-6). A pair of kills from Pennington broke up an 8-2 run by the Terps, as they pulled within three of Falcons at the 17-14 mark, but Air Force responded with five of the next seven points to retake a six-point lead (22-16). Ssozi, Galloway, Heldt and Pennington recorded kills during the Falcons' run, while Ahlers accounted for an ace. Maryland cut the lead to two (24-22), but Pennington earned the final point and Air Force handed the Terps their first set loss of the season with the 25-22 win.

Maryland took an early 5-3 lead in the third, before back-to-back scores from Ssozi (kill, ace) helped Air Force tie the set at six. Back-to-back scores from Miksch, as well as a kill from Heldt and an ace from Ahlers, saw Air Force take a two-point lead (11-9), while another three-point run (Ssozi kill, Medill ace) kept the Falcons up two (15-13). Maryland took the lead at 17-16, before Ssozi stopped its run with a kill. Miksch (kill), King (ace) and Heldt (kill) pushed the Falcons' lead to two (20-18), while multiple points from Pennington (kill, block with Medill) and Miksch (kill, ace) gave Air Force the 25-21 victory.

The Terrapins took an early 4-1 lead and kept their advantage at three (7-4), despite points from Ssozi (kill), Galloway (kill) and Medill (ace). Maryland pushed its lead to five (14-9), before a pair of scores by Ssozi tightened the score to two (12-14). After the Terps pushed their lead out to four (14-18), Pennington (two kills), Miksch (kill) and Medill (ace) brought the Falcons back within one (20-21) and a kill by Ssozi evened the set at 21-all. Pennington and Heldt tallied kills, but Maryland earned the narrow 26-24 victory.

Pennington put down the opening point of the deciding set, while four attacking errors by the Terps and a pair of kills by Ssozi had the Falcons leading 8-5 when the squads switched sides. Maryland pulled within one (9-8) and the teams traded the next several points, with Pennington and Ssozi each recording a pair of kills for Air Force. Air Force forced Maryland into an attacking error (14-11) and Miksch put down the final kill to secure the 15-12 victory for the Falcons – their second victory of the day over a Power 5 school.

Air Force returns to action next week (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), when it travels to Texas for the Maverick Classic.

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