Air Force Academy
UC Irvine
Falcons Set to Host Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic
9/11/2019 11:49:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Air Force will host Loyola Chicago, UC Irvine and Virginia Tech over the Sept. 13-14 weekend.
After spending the first two weeks on the road, the Air Force volleyball team kicks off the home portion of its schedule this weekend, when it hosts the annual Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at the Academy's Cadet East Gym on Sept. 13-14. The Falcons will host Loyola Chicago, UC Irvine and Virginia Tech during the two-day meet, which begins with a neutral match on Friday at 10:00 a.m. (MT).
ABOUT AMY SVOBODA
The Falcons' annual home tournament is named after Amy Svoboda, a 1989 Academy graduate and four-year letterwinner on the Air Force volleyball team, who was killed during an A-10 training accident in 1997. Svoboda, who earned MVP honors during her senior season with the Falcons, was one of the first 14 female fighter pilots in the Air Force – and one of the first six to fly the A-10.
MEET INFORMATION
Live video and stats will be available for all six matches at GoAirForceFalcons.com
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Sept 13: UC Irvine vs Virginia Tech – 10:00 a.m.
Sept 13: Virginia Tech vs Loyola Chicago – 2:30 p.m.
Sept 13: Air Force vs UC Irvine – 7:00 p.m.
Sept 14: Loyola Chicago vs UC Irvine – 10:00 a.m.
Sept 14: Air Force vs Loyola Chicago – 2:30 p.m.
Sept 14: Air Force vs Virginia Tech – 7:00 p.m.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UC Irvine is 1-5 on the season, having posted a 1-2 record at its home UCI/Adidas Invitational last weekend against UNLV (3-1 win), North Carolina (1-3 loss) and California (0-3 loss). Loyola Chicago and Virginia Tech both enter the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic with matching 3-4 records. The Ramblers finished 2-1 against Loyola Maryland (3-2 win), Montana State (3-0 win) and Western Michigan (1-3 loss) at their home tournament last weekend, while the Hokies posted a 2-1 mark at the Liberty Invitational (Elon: 3-1 win, Davidson: 3-1 win, Liberty: 1-3 loss) and suffered a 1-3 loss to VCU on Tuesday night.
SERIES HISTORY
For the second straight tournament, Air Force has limited experience against this weekend's opponents. The Falcons have never faced Loyola Chicago and hold a 1-1 mark against the other two squads. Air Force earned a narrow 32-30, 30-21, 32-30 sweep of UC Irvine at the Academy in 2002, while dropping a 10-15, 14-16, 11-15 contest to Virginia Tech during a neutral site match in 2000.
AHLERS, KING EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Andi Ahlers and Alex King were named to the all-tournament team of the ORU Invitational, after helping the Falcons finish second with a 2-1 record. Ahlers posted a career-high 49 assists in the victory over Oral Roberts, en route to a 112-helper weekend, while King posted a career-high 27 digs against Illinois State for 60 total on the weekend.
FALCONS TAKE SECOND AT ORU INVITATIONAL
With a 2-1 record, which included the team's first true road win of the year, Air Force earned runner-up honors at the ORU Invitational in Tulsa. The Falcons opened the tournament with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Little Rock on Sept. 6, while splitting a pair of five-set contests with Illinois State (25-23, 12-25, 26-28, 27-25, 7-15) and host Oral Roberts (25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 17-25, 15-8) on Sept. 7.
AHLERS NABS 1000TH CAREER ASSIST
Andi Ahlers registered the 1000th assist of her career during the Falcons' victory over Little Rock on Sept. 6. She became just the 10th Falcon at the Division I level to tally more than 1000 helpers in a career and now sits in ninth on the program's DI career standings.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force remains at the Academy next week, when it hosts Denver (Sept. 19), Montana (Sept. 20) and Santa Clara (Sept. 21) as a part of the Thin Air Challenge at the Academy's Cadet East Gym.
