Saturday, September 7
Tulsa, Okla.
12:30 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
1-0
2
vs
3
Illinois State
4-0
1
2
3
4
5
F
Illinois St.
23
25
28
25
15
3
Air Force
25
12
26
27
7
2
Photo by: Tyler Pounds, Oral Roberts
Air Force Drops Five-Set Thriller to Illinois State
9/7/2019 3:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Comeback falls short for the Falcons in 25-23, 12-25, 26-28, 27-25, 7-15 loss to the Redbirds.
TULSA, Okla. – The Air Force volleyball team was unable to complete the comeback this afternoon (Sept. 7), as it dropped a 3-2 thriller to Illinois State at the ORU Invitational in Tulsa. Freshman BrookeLyn Messenger paced the Falcons with 16 kills during the 25-23, 12-25, 26-28, 27-25, 7-15 loss to the Redbirds inside the Cooper Aerobic Center.
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Messenger was one of two Falcons to register double-digit kill totals, as sophomore Bailey Keith added 13. Juniors Alex King (three), Mackenzie Robertson (two) and Kelly Motes (two) combined for seven of the team's eight service aces, while King (27), sophomore Vittoria Juarez (11) and junior Andi Ahlers (10) all reached double figures in digs. Ahlers, who posted 36 assists on the day, registered a double-double, while freshman Taleah Cooper led all players with eight blocks (two solo, eight assisted).
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Illinois State scored the first four points before Juarez put down a kill to stop the early run. Robertson added a kill, but the Redbirds pushed their advantage to 9-3 and forced the Falcons into an early timeout. Â A pair of scores from Messenger, as well as a service ace from Motes, cut Illinois State's advantage in half (7-14), while back-to-back blocks (Juarez/Cooper, Keith/Robertson) and back-to-back aces from King brought the Falcons within four (11-15). Air Force stayed within four off of kills from Juarez (12-16) and Ssozi (13-17), while Robertson posted a kill on the ensuing play to pull the Falcons within three at 14-17. Illinois State retook a five-point lead (19-14), but Air Force scored seven of the next eight points to take its first lead of the set at 21-20. Keith and Messenger both recorded kills during the run, while Robertson tallied a service ace. Keith added another kill, as Air Force reached set point (24-21) and a score by Juarez secured the Falcons' 25-23 thrilling, come-from-behind victory.
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Keith registered the opening point of the second set and Juarez added a kill at the 2-1 mark, but Illinois State used a 9-1 run to take the early 10-3 lead. Messenger, Cooper and Keith added kills, but the Redbirds maintained the seven-point advantage and doubled up the Falcons by a 14-7 score. Juarez and Robertson added kills, but Illinois State evened the match with a 25-12 win.
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Despite kills from Cooper, Robertson and freshman Sarah Markwardt, the Falcons found themselves in an early seven-point deficit to start the third set, as they used their first timeout trailing 5-12. Messenger put down a score to stop the Redbirds' run (6-13) and added another point to spark a 9-2 run that brought the Falcons within one (15-16) and caused ISU to use both timeouts. Cooper tallied a kill and two blocks during the run, while an ace from King evened the set at 16 and Juarez put down a kill on the next play to give Air Force its first lead since the 2-0 mark at 17-16. Illinois State evened the set on the next point and the two squads traded the next several points, resulting in four ties. Messenger tallied three-straight points for the Falcons, including back-to-back points that gave Air Force the 22-21 lead. Illinois State responded with three-straight points to reach set point (23-24), but Messenger (kill) and Motes (ace) flipped the scoreboard to give Air Force the 25-24 lead. However, the Redbirds notched three of the final four points to take set by a 28-26 margin.
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After surrendering large leads to start the first three sets, Air Force went back-and-forth with Illinois State in the fourth. Keith registered the set's opening point, while kills from Juarez and Messenger helped the Falcons to a 5-4 advantage. Keith registered three more kills, but the Redbirds took a seven-point advantage at the 17-10 mark. Juarez put down a kill to spark a four-point run by the Falcons, as Messenger (kill) and Robertson (ace) helped Air Force pull within three (14-17). An Ahlers ace and kills from Cooper and Messenger tied the set at 18. Keith put down a ball to keep the score even at 19 and added back-to-back scores to bring the Falcons within one (22-23). Kills from Robertson (23) and King (24) kept the scores tied, while two kills from Messenger and a block from Ahlers and Cooper gave Air Force the 27-25 victory.
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Cooper and Keith opened the deciding set with a block, while Cooper added a kill to give Air Force the quick 2-1 lead. Illinois State scored four of the next five points, before a Robertson/Juarez block brought the Falcons within one (4-5). The Redbirds scored the next four points (4-9), before senior Denise Ssozi put down a kill to stop the run. Messenger added another kill, but Illinois State claimed the match with the 15-7 win.
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The Falcons return to action later today (Sept. 7), when they face tournament host Oral Roberts in the conclusion of the ORU Invitational at 7:30 p.m. (CT), inside the Cooper Aerobics Center.
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Messenger was one of two Falcons to register double-digit kill totals, as sophomore Bailey Keith added 13. Juniors Alex King (three), Mackenzie Robertson (two) and Kelly Motes (two) combined for seven of the team's eight service aces, while King (27), sophomore Vittoria Juarez (11) and junior Andi Ahlers (10) all reached double figures in digs. Ahlers, who posted 36 assists on the day, registered a double-double, while freshman Taleah Cooper led all players with eight blocks (two solo, eight assisted).
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Illinois State scored the first four points before Juarez put down a kill to stop the early run. Robertson added a kill, but the Redbirds pushed their advantage to 9-3 and forced the Falcons into an early timeout. Â A pair of scores from Messenger, as well as a service ace from Motes, cut Illinois State's advantage in half (7-14), while back-to-back blocks (Juarez/Cooper, Keith/Robertson) and back-to-back aces from King brought the Falcons within four (11-15). Air Force stayed within four off of kills from Juarez (12-16) and Ssozi (13-17), while Robertson posted a kill on the ensuing play to pull the Falcons within three at 14-17. Illinois State retook a five-point lead (19-14), but Air Force scored seven of the next eight points to take its first lead of the set at 21-20. Keith and Messenger both recorded kills during the run, while Robertson tallied a service ace. Keith added another kill, as Air Force reached set point (24-21) and a score by Juarez secured the Falcons' 25-23 thrilling, come-from-behind victory.
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Keith registered the opening point of the second set and Juarez added a kill at the 2-1 mark, but Illinois State used a 9-1 run to take the early 10-3 lead. Messenger, Cooper and Keith added kills, but the Redbirds maintained the seven-point advantage and doubled up the Falcons by a 14-7 score. Juarez and Robertson added kills, but Illinois State evened the match with a 25-12 win.
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Despite kills from Cooper, Robertson and freshman Sarah Markwardt, the Falcons found themselves in an early seven-point deficit to start the third set, as they used their first timeout trailing 5-12. Messenger put down a score to stop the Redbirds' run (6-13) and added another point to spark a 9-2 run that brought the Falcons within one (15-16) and caused ISU to use both timeouts. Cooper tallied a kill and two blocks during the run, while an ace from King evened the set at 16 and Juarez put down a kill on the next play to give Air Force its first lead since the 2-0 mark at 17-16. Illinois State evened the set on the next point and the two squads traded the next several points, resulting in four ties. Messenger tallied three-straight points for the Falcons, including back-to-back points that gave Air Force the 22-21 lead. Illinois State responded with three-straight points to reach set point (23-24), but Messenger (kill) and Motes (ace) flipped the scoreboard to give Air Force the 25-24 lead. However, the Redbirds notched three of the final four points to take set by a 28-26 margin.
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After surrendering large leads to start the first three sets, Air Force went back-and-forth with Illinois State in the fourth. Keith registered the set's opening point, while kills from Juarez and Messenger helped the Falcons to a 5-4 advantage. Keith registered three more kills, but the Redbirds took a seven-point advantage at the 17-10 mark. Juarez put down a kill to spark a four-point run by the Falcons, as Messenger (kill) and Robertson (ace) helped Air Force pull within three (14-17). An Ahlers ace and kills from Cooper and Messenger tied the set at 18. Keith put down a ball to keep the score even at 19 and added back-to-back scores to bring the Falcons within one (22-23). Kills from Robertson (23) and King (24) kept the scores tied, while two kills from Messenger and a block from Ahlers and Cooper gave Air Force the 27-25 victory.
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Cooper and Keith opened the deciding set with a block, while Cooper added a kill to give Air Force the quick 2-1 lead. Illinois State scored four of the next five points, before a Robertson/Juarez block brought the Falcons within one (4-5). The Redbirds scored the next four points (4-9), before senior Denise Ssozi put down a kill to stop the run. Messenger added another kill, but Illinois State claimed the match with the 15-7 win.
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The Falcons return to action later today (Sept. 7), when they face tournament host Oral Roberts in the conclusion of the ORU Invitational at 7:30 p.m. (CT), inside the Cooper Aerobics Center.
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Team Stats
ISU
USAFA
Kills
59
54
Errors
24
37
Attempts
157
170
Hitting %
.223
.100
Points
78
74
Assists
56
49
Aces
6
8
Blocks
13
12
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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