Falcons Blank Roadrunners in Tournament Opener

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball opened the 2018 Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic with a 3-0 sweep of CSU Bakersfield this evening (Sept. 6) at the Academy's Cadet East Gym. With junior Denise Ssozi and senior Elizabeth Pennington combining for 24 kills – one less than the total of CSUB – on .450 hitting, the Falcons swept the Roadrunners 25-20, 25-11, 25-19.

Ssozi led all players with 14 kills and Pennington chipped in another 10, as both hit over .450 on the night (.462 for Ssozi, .450 for Pennington). Sophomore Andi Ahlers registered a match-best 21 assists, while classmates Kathleen Medill and Cambria Galloway paced the Falcons in blocks, with two apiece (one solo, one assisted for Medill; two assisted for Galloway). Senior Sarah Hellman tallied a match-high 12 digs to round out the Falcons' scoring leaders.

Pennington recorded the first point of the match, while kills from Ssozi and Galloway brought the Falcons within one (5-6). CSU Bakersfield took a three-point advantage at the 11-8 mark, but Air Force rattled off seven of the next eight points behind kills from Pennington, Ssozi and senior Abigail Miksch to take its own three-point lead (15-12). Ssozi added another pair of kills, while Air Force forced the visiting team into several errors that extended the Falcons' advantage. Senior Lauren Heldt registered a score and Pennington put down the final kill to give Air Force the 25-20 victory.

Air Force got on the board first in the second set, as Medill and Ssozi registered back-to-back kills. A pair of scores from Pennington, as well as a Heldt/Galloway block, helped Air Force inflate its lead, while kills from Miksch book-ended an ace from Ahlers that gave the Falcons an 11-6 advantage. Air Force blew the set open during a 7-0 run (19-7) that included three kills from Ssozi, a kill and block from Medill (assisted by Pennington) and a kill from Ahlers. Backed by two more kills from Ssozi, Air Force took the set, 25-11.

After CSUB took an early 4-2 lead in the third, Air Force retook the lead during another 7-1 run and extended its advantage to seven following 4-0 run. Pennington, Galloway, Ssozi and Miksch all registered kills during the first stretch, while Heldt (kill), Miksch (kill) and Hellman (ace) scored during the second. The Falcons doubled up the Roadrunners at the 16-8 mark and Pennington scored three of the night's final four points to secure the Falcons' third-straight sweep with a 25-19 set victory.

Air Force returns to the Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Sept. 7), when its hosts Cal Baptist and Valparaiso during the second day of action at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic. The Falcons face the Lancers at 2:00 p.m., before hosting the Crusaders in the nightcap (7:00 p.m.).

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