Friday, September 28
USAFA
6:30 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
12-4 (2-0)
3
vs
1
UNLV
11-5 (2-2)
1
2
3
4
F
UNLV
25
22
19
16
1
Air Force
19
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Sharon Ellman
Falcons Down Rebels in Four
9/28/2018 11:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Lauren Heldt hit .550 on the night, as Air Force rallied to defeat UNLV in four.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the short conference season – and 12-4 overall – this evening (Sept. 28), as it came back to defeat UNLV in four at the Academy's Cadet East Gym. After dropping the opening set by a 25-19 margin, the Falcons roared back to hit over .360 in two of the final three sets and collect the 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 victories.
Senior Lauren Heldt – one of three Falcons to post double-digit kills on the night – hit .550 for the match, as she tallied 12 kills on 20 attempts with just one error. Classmate Elizabeth Pennington paced the team with 15 kills, while fellow senior Abigail Miksch added 11. Sophomore Andi Ahlers accounted for 25 of the team's 48 assists, while classmates Alex King and Cambria Galloway led the team in digs (17) and blocks (six), respectively. King, Ahlers (12) and junior Denise Ssozi (10) all tallied double-digit dig totals, while senior Sarah Hellman rounded out the Falcons' statistical leaders with a pair of service aces.
UNLV took an early 3-1 lead in the opening set, before Heldt (kill), Galloway (kill) and Hellman (ace) helped the Falcons even the set at six. The Rebels retook the lead on the next point and pushed their advantage out to three at the 9-6 mark. Despite kills from Pennington and sophomore Kathleen Medill, UNLV extended its lead. Pennington and Miksch each accounted for three more kills and classmate Shanleigh Conlan registered an ace, but Air Force dropped the opening set, 25-19.
Ssozi and Pennington put down the opening scores of the second set, while a second kill from Ssozi helped Air Force tie the set at three. The Rebels pushed out to a 6-3 lead, but kills from Heldt and Miksch allowed the Falcons to even the set again at eight. The teams traded next few points, before Air Force tallied four straight points – highlighted by back-to-back kills from Heldt and Ahlers – to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. UNLV cut the lead to two on several occasions, but the Falcons always responded behind kills from Pennington (two), Heldt and Ssozi. A final score from Medill secured the Falcons' 25-22 victory.
Galloway assisted on back-to-back blocks (one with Pennington, one with Heldt), as Air Force opened the third set with a quick 5-1 burst. Pennington put down a pair of kills and Galloway assisted on another pair of stops (one with Miksch, one with Heldt) to extend the Falcons' advantage to 8-2. A block by Medill and Pennington, as well as a service ace from King, helped Air Force double-up the Rebels 14-7, while the pair registered kills to put the Falcons up 16-10. Heldt and Miksch each accounted for a pair of kills to give Air Force a 22-14 lead, while Ssozi and Heldt earned the squad's final two points for the Falcons' 25-19 win.
UNLV took the early lead in the fourth, as it jumped out to a quick 4-1 margin. An ace by Pennington, as well as a pair of kills from Miksch, helped Air Force tie the set at five, while blocks from Medill kept the scores even (6-6 with Miksch, 8-8 with Pennington). An ace from Ahlers gave Air Force its first lead of the set (9-8), while a Pennington/Galloway block and a Ssozi kill helped the Falcons push its advantage to three (11-8) and force UNLV into a timeout. Kills by Pennington and Heldt extended Air Force's lead to five (14-9), while a Ssozi/Medill block and a Hellman ace pushed its lead out to seven (21-14). The Falcons tallied the final three points of the set off of kills from Ssozi (two) and Pennington (one) to take the 25-16 win and secure Air Force's second straight win over the Rebels.
The Falcons close out an 11-match homestand on Sunday (Sept. 30), when they host New Mexico at noon.
Senior Lauren Heldt – one of three Falcons to post double-digit kills on the night – hit .550 for the match, as she tallied 12 kills on 20 attempts with just one error. Classmate Elizabeth Pennington paced the team with 15 kills, while fellow senior Abigail Miksch added 11. Sophomore Andi Ahlers accounted for 25 of the team's 48 assists, while classmates Alex King and Cambria Galloway led the team in digs (17) and blocks (six), respectively. King, Ahlers (12) and junior Denise Ssozi (10) all tallied double-digit dig totals, while senior Sarah Hellman rounded out the Falcons' statistical leaders with a pair of service aces.
UNLV took an early 3-1 lead in the opening set, before Heldt (kill), Galloway (kill) and Hellman (ace) helped the Falcons even the set at six. The Rebels retook the lead on the next point and pushed their advantage out to three at the 9-6 mark. Despite kills from Pennington and sophomore Kathleen Medill, UNLV extended its lead. Pennington and Miksch each accounted for three more kills and classmate Shanleigh Conlan registered an ace, but Air Force dropped the opening set, 25-19.
Ssozi and Pennington put down the opening scores of the second set, while a second kill from Ssozi helped Air Force tie the set at three. The Rebels pushed out to a 6-3 lead, but kills from Heldt and Miksch allowed the Falcons to even the set again at eight. The teams traded next few points, before Air Force tallied four straight points – highlighted by back-to-back kills from Heldt and Ahlers – to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. UNLV cut the lead to two on several occasions, but the Falcons always responded behind kills from Pennington (two), Heldt and Ssozi. A final score from Medill secured the Falcons' 25-22 victory.
Galloway assisted on back-to-back blocks (one with Pennington, one with Heldt), as Air Force opened the third set with a quick 5-1 burst. Pennington put down a pair of kills and Galloway assisted on another pair of stops (one with Miksch, one with Heldt) to extend the Falcons' advantage to 8-2. A block by Medill and Pennington, as well as a service ace from King, helped Air Force double-up the Rebels 14-7, while the pair registered kills to put the Falcons up 16-10. Heldt and Miksch each accounted for a pair of kills to give Air Force a 22-14 lead, while Ssozi and Heldt earned the squad's final two points for the Falcons' 25-19 win.
UNLV took the early lead in the fourth, as it jumped out to a quick 4-1 margin. An ace by Pennington, as well as a pair of kills from Miksch, helped Air Force tie the set at five, while blocks from Medill kept the scores even (6-6 with Miksch, 8-8 with Pennington). An ace from Ahlers gave Air Force its first lead of the set (9-8), while a Pennington/Galloway block and a Ssozi kill helped the Falcons push its advantage to three (11-8) and force UNLV into a timeout. Kills by Pennington and Heldt extended Air Force's lead to five (14-9), while a Ssozi/Medill block and a Hellman ace pushed its lead out to seven (21-14). The Falcons tallied the final three points of the set off of kills from Ssozi (two) and Pennington (one) to take the 25-16 win and secure Air Force's second straight win over the Rebels.
The Falcons close out an 11-match homestand on Sunday (Sept. 30), when they host New Mexico at noon.
Team Stats
UNLV
AF
Kills
43
53
Errors
21
19
Attempts
135
128
Hitting %
.163
.266
Points
51.0
70.0
Assists
40
48
Aces
3
6
Blocks
5.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's VolleyballMH/MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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