Falcons Sweep Maryland Eastern Shore

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team opened its final non-conference weekend of the season with a 3-0 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday (Sept. 14) afternoon at the Academy. Highlighted by a season-high 10 total service aces and .520 hitting in the opening set, the Falcons downed the Hawks in straight 25-9, 25-23, 25-23 sets.

Sophomore Andi Ahlers and senior Shanleigh Conlan each tallied four aces, while sophomore Kathleen Medill added a pair. Junior Denise Ssozi posted a match-high eight kills, while senior Abigail Miksch added seven on .429 hitting. Conlan registered a match-best 24 assists, while classmate Sarah Hellman led all players with 16 digs. Sophomore Cambria Galloway rounded out the scoring leaders with three blocks.

Highlighted by an ace from Conlan and back-to-back solo blocks from Miksch and classmate Elizabeth Pennington, Air Force took an early 5-0 start to the match and Falcons moved to 7-1 in the set. A kill by Ssozi sparked a six-point run by the Falcons, which included an ace by Ahlers, a pair of kills from Medill and a Medill/Ssozi block (14-3). Ssozi, Pennington and Miksch each recorded a pair of kills, while freshman Rachel Budzinski earned back-to-back points off of a kill and assisted blocks (with Ssozi), as Air Force rolled to the 25-9 set win.

Air Force kicked off the second set with kills from Pennington and Medill, as well an ace from Ahlers, but Maryland Eastern Shore responded with three straight points to take a 4-3 advantage. Freshman Bailey Keith tallied a pair of scores, while Conlan added another ace and Galloway recorded a kill and assisted on a block, as Air Force evened the score at eight and took a two-point lead at the 10-8 mark. Ahlers posted another ace, but Shore retook the lead and pushed its advantage out to five (19-14). Keith stopped the run with a kill, while sophomore Mackenzie Robertson registered back-to-back blocks (one solo, on assisted with Galloway). Medill and Conlan tallied service aces, while Ssozi scored three of the Falcons' final four points for the 25-23 victory.

Kills from Galloway and Keith kicked off the third set, while Medill and Keith each added one to push the Falcons' advantage to 5-1. Shore pulled within two (8-6), before senior Lauren Heldt put down a kills and teamed up for a block with Galloway to help Air Force double UMES up at 14-7. A kill from Miksch and another Conlan ace pushed the Falcon's lead to eight (16-8), but Shore crept back to cut the lead to three on three separate occasions, before stringing together four-straight points to pull within one at 24-23. Galloway recorded the final point to give Air Force the sweep with the 25-23 victory.

The Falcons return to action this evening, when they host Samford at 7:00 p.m. (MT).

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Team Stats

Denise Ssozi

Abigail Miksch

Bailey Keith

Kathleen Medill

Players Mentioned

Andi Ahlers

Rachel Budzinski

Shanleigh Conlan

Cambria Galloway

Lauren Heldt

Sarah Hellman

Bailey Keith

Kathleen Medill

Abigail Miksch

Elizabeth Pennington

Mackenzie Robertson

Denise Ssozi

Players Mentioned

Andi Ahlers

Rachel Budzinski

Shanleigh Conlan

Cambria Galloway

Lauren Heldt

Sarah Hellman

Bailey Keith

Kathleen Medill

Abigail Miksch

Elizabeth Pennington

Mackenzie Robertson

Denise Ssozi

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