Thursday, November 7
USAFA
6:30 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
8-17, 5-8MW
0
vs
3
San Jose State
9-15, 4-9MW
1
2
3
F
San Jose St.
26
25
35
3
Air Force
24
13
33
0
Photo by: Trevor Cokley
Falcons Fall in Wild Meeting with San Jose State
11/7/2019 10:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team dropped a wild contest to San Jose State this evening (Nov. 7) in its return to the Academy. In a contest that featured a furious comeback attempt and the highest set score in five years, the Falcons fell in 24-26, 13-25, 33-35 to the visiting Spartans.
Senior Denise Ssozi (10) and sophomore Bailey Keith (nine) combined for over half of the team's 36 kills, while freshman Taleah Cooper added five strikes on a team-high .273 hitting (5-2-11). Junior Alex King, who led the team in digs with 13, accounted for a match-high three service aces and helped the Falcons to seven total points off the serve. Junior Cambria Galloway accounted for a team-high four blocks (all assisted), while classmate Andi Ahlers tallied a match-best 28 assists and added 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the year.
King opened the match with her first ace, while a Ssozi kill and a Galloway/Keith block helped Air Force take the early 3-1 lead. Galloway (kill), Keith (kill), junior Mackenzie Robertson (solo block) and freshman Sarah Markwardt (kill) accounted for points, but San Jose State responded with a 17-4 run that put the Falcons in an 18-7 hole. A pair of kills from Ssozi bookended another King ace during a four-point swing by Air Force, but three-straight points by the Spartans pushed the score to 21-11. Air Force scored the next five points behind a kill from Galloway, an ace from Ahlers and three SJSU attacking errors to pull within five and force the Spartans to call their first timeout. San Jose State scored the next two points (16-23), but Air Force rattled off the next six points to pull within one. Junior Kelly Motes served up a pair of aces during that run, while Ssozi and Markwardt both added kills. A kill from Keith evened the set at 24, but the Falcons' comeback fell just short, as the Spartans tallied the final two points for the 26-4 win.
San Jose State scored the first six points of the second set, before Ssozi put down a kill and assisted on a block with Galloway to put the Falcons on the board (2-6). The pair added another block, while Galloway and Keith tallied kills, but the Spartans quickly doubled Air Force up at the 12-6 mark. Keith (6-9) and classmate Vittoria Juarez (10-14) added scores to keep the Falcons within striking distance, but San Jose State scored 11 of the final 14 points to take the set by a 25-13 margin.
Cooper tallied two kills in the opening minutes of the third set to tie the set at five, while a strike by Juarez kept the Falcons within one at the 6-7 mark, but a six-point run by San Jose State pushed Air Force into a 13-6 deficit. Cooper (kill) and King (ace) helped Air Force pull within four (9-13), while a five-point run by the Falcons – which included a kill and assisted block by Galloway – brought Air Force within two (14-16). The Spartans pushed their lead to five at the 21-16 mark, before another five-point run by the Falcons tied the set at 21. Galloway notched an ace during that stretch, while Juarez put down a kill and teamed up with Cooper for the block. San Jose State earned the advantage on the next point, but kills from Keith (22-22), Juarez (23-23) and Ssozi (24-24, 25-25) kept the scores tied during the back-and-forth action. Air Force earned its first lead of the set at the 26-25 off of an errant SJSU attack, while Ssozi put down a strike at the 27-26 mark. The Spartans retook the lead on back-to-back points, but a kill from Keith tied the set at 28. Cooper (29-29) and Juarez (30-30) accounted for set-tying kills, while Cooper put down a kill to stop a two-point swing by the Spartans and even the set at 32-all. Ssozi tallied her 10th kill of the night to even the set at 33, but back-to-back points by San Jose State gave the Spartans the thrilling 35-33 win.
The 33 third-set points tallied by Air Force are the most since a 34-point outing in 2014 – a match that also featured San Jose State – and the third-highest point total in a single set since 25-point scoring began in 2008. In fact, three of the Falcons' 30-plus sets have come against the Spartans.
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 9, when it hosts Nevada at 1:00 p.m. (MT).
Senior Denise Ssozi (10) and sophomore Bailey Keith (nine) combined for over half of the team's 36 kills, while freshman Taleah Cooper added five strikes on a team-high .273 hitting (5-2-11). Junior Alex King, who led the team in digs with 13, accounted for a match-high three service aces and helped the Falcons to seven total points off the serve. Junior Cambria Galloway accounted for a team-high four blocks (all assisted), while classmate Andi Ahlers tallied a match-best 28 assists and added 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the year.
King opened the match with her first ace, while a Ssozi kill and a Galloway/Keith block helped Air Force take the early 3-1 lead. Galloway (kill), Keith (kill), junior Mackenzie Robertson (solo block) and freshman Sarah Markwardt (kill) accounted for points, but San Jose State responded with a 17-4 run that put the Falcons in an 18-7 hole. A pair of kills from Ssozi bookended another King ace during a four-point swing by Air Force, but three-straight points by the Spartans pushed the score to 21-11. Air Force scored the next five points behind a kill from Galloway, an ace from Ahlers and three SJSU attacking errors to pull within five and force the Spartans to call their first timeout. San Jose State scored the next two points (16-23), but Air Force rattled off the next six points to pull within one. Junior Kelly Motes served up a pair of aces during that run, while Ssozi and Markwardt both added kills. A kill from Keith evened the set at 24, but the Falcons' comeback fell just short, as the Spartans tallied the final two points for the 26-4 win.
San Jose State scored the first six points of the second set, before Ssozi put down a kill and assisted on a block with Galloway to put the Falcons on the board (2-6). The pair added another block, while Galloway and Keith tallied kills, but the Spartans quickly doubled Air Force up at the 12-6 mark. Keith (6-9) and classmate Vittoria Juarez (10-14) added scores to keep the Falcons within striking distance, but San Jose State scored 11 of the final 14 points to take the set by a 25-13 margin.
Cooper tallied two kills in the opening minutes of the third set to tie the set at five, while a strike by Juarez kept the Falcons within one at the 6-7 mark, but a six-point run by San Jose State pushed Air Force into a 13-6 deficit. Cooper (kill) and King (ace) helped Air Force pull within four (9-13), while a five-point run by the Falcons – which included a kill and assisted block by Galloway – brought Air Force within two (14-16). The Spartans pushed their lead to five at the 21-16 mark, before another five-point run by the Falcons tied the set at 21. Galloway notched an ace during that stretch, while Juarez put down a kill and teamed up with Cooper for the block. San Jose State earned the advantage on the next point, but kills from Keith (22-22), Juarez (23-23) and Ssozi (24-24, 25-25) kept the scores tied during the back-and-forth action. Air Force earned its first lead of the set at the 26-25 off of an errant SJSU attack, while Ssozi put down a strike at the 27-26 mark. The Spartans retook the lead on back-to-back points, but a kill from Keith tied the set at 28. Cooper (29-29) and Juarez (30-30) accounted for set-tying kills, while Cooper put down a kill to stop a two-point swing by the Spartans and even the set at 32-all. Ssozi tallied her 10th kill of the night to even the set at 33, but back-to-back points by San Jose State gave the Spartans the thrilling 35-33 win.
The 33 third-set points tallied by Air Force are the most since a 34-point outing in 2014 – a match that also featured San Jose State – and the third-highest point total in a single set since 25-point scoring began in 2008. In fact, three of the Falcons' 30-plus sets have come against the Spartans.
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 9, when it hosts Nevada at 1:00 p.m. (MT).
Team Stats
SJ
AF
Kills
50
36
Errors
21
27
Attempts
127
125
Hitting %
.228
.072
Points
62.5
49.0
Assists
46
33
Aces
3
7
Blocks
9.5
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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