Friday, August 31
Arlington, Texas
11:00 a.m.
Air Force Academy
3-1
3
vs
1
Loyola Maryland
2-2
1
2
3
4
F
Loyola Maryland
25
16
21
23
1
Air Force
23
25
25
25
3
Falcons Claim 3-1 Victory Loyola Maryland
8/31/2018 2:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Air Force defeated the Greyhounds 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-23 in Arlington, Texas.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Air Force volleyball team kicked off the Maverick Classic with a 3-1 victory over Loyola Maryland on Friday, Aug. 31, in Arlington, Texas. After dropping the opening set 25-23, the Falcons rolled off three-straight wins (25-16, 25-21, 25-23) to improve to 3-1 on the young season.
Â
Three Falcons registered double-digit kills during the victory, with junior Denise Ssozi leading all players (17). Seniors Elizabeth Pennington and Abigail Miksch added kill totals of 13 and 12, respectively, as the trio combined for 42 of the team's 57 kills. Sophomore Andi Ahlers, who tallied a team-high 29 assists and 11 digs, was one of three Falcons to record a double-double in the match, as Miksch (team-leading 18) and Ssozi (14) added double-digit dig totals. Sophomores Kathleen Medill and Cambria Galloway paced the team in blocks, with Medill accounting for six (all assisted) and Galloway collecting five (two solo, three assisted), and senior Sarah Hellman rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders with a pair of service aces.
Â
Loyola took an early 3-1 lead, before Ssozi, Pennington and Galloway combined for five straight points that gave Air Force a 6-3 advantage. Galloway, Miksch and Medill added kills, but the Greyhounds scored four unanswered points to pull within one (11-10) and eventually evened the set at 14-all. Ssozi registered a kill that evened the set at 16, but Loyola retook the lead on the next point. The Falcons held the Greyhounds at set-point during a 4-0 run behind kills from Pennington (two) and Ssozi (one), but Loyola earned the deciding point to take the set by a 25-23 margin.
Â
The second set opened with Air Force taking a 3-1 lead behind kills from Pennington and Ssozi, but Loyola responded with six of the next eight points to go up by two (5-7). A kill by Galloway ended the Greyhounds run and sparked a 6-0 run by the Falcons that included an ace from Hellman and a Medill/Miksch block. Loyola pulled within one (13-12), but Air Force responded with eight of the next nine points to take a 21-13 lead. Ssozi notched three kills during the run, while senior Shanleigh Conlan and Medill recorded aces and Galloway registered a kill and teamed up with Pennington for a block. Heldt and Miksch added kills, while another Medill/Miksch block secured the 25-16 victory for the Falcons.
Â
It was another streaky start for the third set, as Loyola took a fast 4-1 lead and Air Force responded with seven unanswered points to force the Greyhounds into an early timeout (8-4). Ssozi (two), Miksch, Pennington and Medill recorded kills during the Falcons' run, while a pair of scores from Galloway helped Air Force push its lead to five (11-6). Loyola pulled within two (14-12), but Ssozi tallied a kill and block to regain a five-point advantage (19-14). Air Force maintained that lead (23-18) behind a pair of kills from Miksch and a Medill/Pennington block, while a score by Pennington gave Air Force the 25-21 win.
Â
The two teams traded the first eight points, before a kill and block by Galloway broke the back-and-forth scoring (6-4). Ssozi and Miksch put down kills that gave Air Force a five-point lead (11-6). Galloway (kill), Ssozi (kill) and Hellman (ace) extended the Falcons' lead to seven (18-11), while Medill assisted on back-to-back blocks (one with Heldt, one with freshman Bailey Keith) to help Air Force maintain that advantage (20-13). Loyola scored nine of the next 12 points to pull within one (23-22), but a kill from Pennington gave Air Force the 25-23 victory.
Â
"That was a really fun match," head coach Marc Swindle said. "Loyola Maryland has really good ball control and runs a really fast offense ... we were a little nervous about it because we hadn't faced one that fast yet. I thought we did a good job of slowing them down and out-hit them by over 100 points in the last three sets. We were able to get the ball to Cam and Kat more, Denise was super solid in attacking and passing, and Sarah played great at libero. I thought we made a lot of good sets and good choices. It was a fun match and we learned some more from it."
Â
The Falcons return to action this evening (Aug. 31), when they face host UT-Arlington at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Â
Â
Three Falcons registered double-digit kills during the victory, with junior Denise Ssozi leading all players (17). Seniors Elizabeth Pennington and Abigail Miksch added kill totals of 13 and 12, respectively, as the trio combined for 42 of the team's 57 kills. Sophomore Andi Ahlers, who tallied a team-high 29 assists and 11 digs, was one of three Falcons to record a double-double in the match, as Miksch (team-leading 18) and Ssozi (14) added double-digit dig totals. Sophomores Kathleen Medill and Cambria Galloway paced the team in blocks, with Medill accounting for six (all assisted) and Galloway collecting five (two solo, three assisted), and senior Sarah Hellman rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders with a pair of service aces.
Â
Loyola took an early 3-1 lead, before Ssozi, Pennington and Galloway combined for five straight points that gave Air Force a 6-3 advantage. Galloway, Miksch and Medill added kills, but the Greyhounds scored four unanswered points to pull within one (11-10) and eventually evened the set at 14-all. Ssozi registered a kill that evened the set at 16, but Loyola retook the lead on the next point. The Falcons held the Greyhounds at set-point during a 4-0 run behind kills from Pennington (two) and Ssozi (one), but Loyola earned the deciding point to take the set by a 25-23 margin.
Â
The second set opened with Air Force taking a 3-1 lead behind kills from Pennington and Ssozi, but Loyola responded with six of the next eight points to go up by two (5-7). A kill by Galloway ended the Greyhounds run and sparked a 6-0 run by the Falcons that included an ace from Hellman and a Medill/Miksch block. Loyola pulled within one (13-12), but Air Force responded with eight of the next nine points to take a 21-13 lead. Ssozi notched three kills during the run, while senior Shanleigh Conlan and Medill recorded aces and Galloway registered a kill and teamed up with Pennington for a block. Heldt and Miksch added kills, while another Medill/Miksch block secured the 25-16 victory for the Falcons.
Â
It was another streaky start for the third set, as Loyola took a fast 4-1 lead and Air Force responded with seven unanswered points to force the Greyhounds into an early timeout (8-4). Ssozi (two), Miksch, Pennington and Medill recorded kills during the Falcons' run, while a pair of scores from Galloway helped Air Force push its lead to five (11-6). Loyola pulled within two (14-12), but Ssozi tallied a kill and block to regain a five-point advantage (19-14). Air Force maintained that lead (23-18) behind a pair of kills from Miksch and a Medill/Pennington block, while a score by Pennington gave Air Force the 25-21 win.
Â
The two teams traded the first eight points, before a kill and block by Galloway broke the back-and-forth scoring (6-4). Ssozi and Miksch put down kills that gave Air Force a five-point lead (11-6). Galloway (kill), Ssozi (kill) and Hellman (ace) extended the Falcons' lead to seven (18-11), while Medill assisted on back-to-back blocks (one with Heldt, one with freshman Bailey Keith) to help Air Force maintain that advantage (20-13). Loyola scored nine of the next 12 points to pull within one (23-22), but a kill from Pennington gave Air Force the 25-23 victory.
Â
"That was a really fun match," head coach Marc Swindle said. "Loyola Maryland has really good ball control and runs a really fast offense ... we were a little nervous about it because we hadn't faced one that fast yet. I thought we did a good job of slowing them down and out-hit them by over 100 points in the last three sets. We were able to get the ball to Cam and Kat more, Denise was super solid in attacking and passing, and Sarah played great at libero. I thought we made a lot of good sets and good choices. It was a fun match and we learned some more from it."
Â
The Falcons return to action this evening (Aug. 31), when they face host UT-Arlington at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Â
Team Stats
LOYOLA
AF
Kills
42
57
Errors
24
25
Attempts
155
174
Hitting %
.116
.184
Points
51.0
72.0
Assists
39
51
Aces
2
4
Blocks
7.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMacey Donathan Interview Sept 30, 2025
Tuesday, September 30
Falcons open up MW play with sweep of Nevada
Thursday, September 25
Macey Donathan Interview Sept 23, 2025
Tuesday, September 23
Utah Tech gives Falcons a loss in four sets
Saturday, September 20
