Air Force Blanks San Diego State in MW Opener

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Backed by .400 hitting from senior Elizabeth Pennington, the Air Force volleyball team opened the conference portion of its season with a 3-0 victory over San Diego State at the Academy's Cadet East Gym this afternoon (Sept. 23). The Falcons downed the visiting Aztecs in straight 25-21, 25-20, 27-25 sets to improve to 11-4 on the season.

Recording a match-high 12 kills on 27 attempts, with just one error, Pennington hit .407 for the contest – and led Air Force to a .209 team average. Classmate Shanleigh Conlan led the team in digs (14) and service aces (three), while sophomores Kathleen Medill and Andi Ahlers rounded out the Falcons' statistical leaders, with Medill registering five blocks (one solo, four assisted) and Ahlers accounting for 17 assists.

Although the Aztecs put down the opening point of the match, Air Force quickly responded and scoring nine of the next 10 points to take a 9-2 advantage. Seniors Lauren Heldt and Abigail Miksch recorded kills during that run, while Miksch teamed up with Medill for a block. San Diego State pulled within three (12-9), but an ace from junior Denise Ssozi and a pair of scores from Pennington (kill, block with Medill) helped the Falcons stretch their lead back to eight (18-10). The Aztecs again cut their deficit to three (18-15), but Heldt stopped their run with a kill and Conlan added back-to-back aces to cushion the Falcons' lead. Miksch tallied the Falcons' final two kills, as Air Force won the opening set 25-21.

Air Force took the early 3-1 lead in the second, before San Diego State evened the set at three and the two teams traded the next four points for a five-all tie. Conlan served up another ace to spark a 4-0 run by the Falcons that included a kill from Heldt to give Air Force a 9-5 lead. Kills from Pennington (13-7) and Ssozi (15-9) pushed the Falcons' lead to six, but San Diego State pulled within two at the 18-16 mark. Freshman Rachel Budzinski assisted on back-to-back blocks (one with Miksch, one with Pennington), as Air Force pushed its lead to five (21-16). A pair of kills by Pennington, as well as a kill and ace from Ssozi, in the closing minutes of the set gave Air Force a 25-20 victory.

A block by Heldt and Medill gave Air Force a 3-1 start in the third, but San Diego State responded to take the lead (6-5) and push its advantage to four. With the Falcons' still trailing by four (10-14), Miksch put down back-to-back kills and assisted on a block with sophomore Cambria Galloway, as the Falcons evened the set at 14-all. A kill by Heldt tied the set at 15, while another score from Miksch gave Air Force a 16-15 lead. The Aztecs evened the score at 18, but Medill and Pennington teamed up for a block and each recorded a kill to push the Falcons to match-point (24-22). San Diego State tied the set at 24 – and again at 25 – but a kill from Ssozi and service ace from sophomore Alex King gave Air Force the 27-25 win – and its first sweep of the Aztecs since 2014.

Air Force closes out its month-long, 11-match homestand next weekend when it hosts UNLV (Friday, Sept. 28) and New Mexico (Sunday, Sept. 30) in conference contests at the Cadet East Gym.

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