Thursday, October 21
USAFA
6:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
5-14,2-7Mountain West
3
vs
0
Nevada
3-17,0-9Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Nevada
17
24
19
0
Air Force
25
26
25
3
Photo by: Josh Armstrong
Falcons Sweep Nevada in Conference Action
10/21/2021 9:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Joi Harvey tallied match-leading totals in kills (12), blocks (six) and hitting (.706).
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team got back on the winning track this evening (Oct. 21), as it closed out the first half of the Mountain West season with a 25-17, 26-24, 25-19 sweep of Nevada at Cadet East Gym.
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Sophomore Joi Harvey had a tremendous night on the court, tallying match-leading tallies in kills (12), hitting (.706, 12-0-17) and blocks (six – one solo, five assisted). Backed by Harvey's 12 kills – and 10 additional scores from junior BrookeLyn Messenger (on .533 hitting, 10-2-15), the Falcons out-killed the Wolfpack by a 43-26 margin and out-hit the visitors by 154 points.
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Five different Falcons accounted for multiple blocks in the match, as senior Bailey Keith (four – all assisted), freshman Mac Russ (two – both assisted), sophomore Savannah Neal (two – one solo, one assisted) and Messenger (two – both assisted) joined Harvey with stops at the net. Senior Lily Landis led the team in assists (19) and service aces (career high three), while sophomore Allie Griffith rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders with a match-high 16 digs.
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Harvey registered the Falcons' first two points, while a Keith/Russ assist and Messenger kill gave Air Force an early 4-3 lead. Back-to-back kills from Messenger and Harvey gave Air Force an 8-6 lead, while two errors and a Keith/Harvey block pushed the Falcons' advantage out to four at the 11-7 mark. Air Force maintained that margin (16-12) following another three-point run that included Landis' first ace, and used a 4-0 run off of kills from Messenger (two), Neal and Harvey to extend its lead to seven (21-14). Harvey added another strike at the 23-15 mark and two Nevada errors gave Air Force the 25-17 victory.
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Messenger and Harvey led the Falcons to a quick 4-1 lead in the second set, as a kill and ace from Messenger bookended a pair of points from Harvey (kill, block). Keith, who assisted Harvey on the block, put down the Falcons' next two points (6-4), but the Wolfpack evened the set two plays later. Air Force forced Nevada into three-straight errors (10-7), while kills from Neal, Harvey and freshman Ella Tschuor helped Air Force maintain the lead. Nevada used a 4-0 run to take the lead at 15-13, but Air Force responded with four of the next five points – including a kill by Russ, a solo block by Neal and an ace by Tschuor- to retake the lead at 17-16. Messenger had a hand in Air Force's next four points, tallying three kills and assisting Harvey on a block (22-20), while kills from Keith and Russ put the Falcons at set point (24-22). Nevada evened the set at 24, but Neal registered back-to-back kills for Air Force's 26-24 win.
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Nevada jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the third set, but a kill from Keith halted a five-point run by the Wolfpack and sent Landis to the serving line. A pair of kills from Harvey and two more aces from the senior setter highlighted a six-point swing by the Falcons that gave Air Force a 9-7 lead. The Wolfpack scored four of the next five points, to retake the lead at 11-10, but the Falcons responded with back-to-back blocks (Neal/Harvey, Russ/Messenger) and a 12-11 advantage. Another kill from Neal broke a 12-all tie and Air Force began to pull away from the visitors, using kills to extend its lead to three (Russ, 15-12) and four (Keith, 18-14). Harvey accounted for three scores (two kills, solo block) during a 5-1 run that pushed the Falcons' lead to 23-16, while kills from Neal and Russ secured the 25-19 win and the 3-0 sweep.
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Air Force begins the second half of conference play on Saturday (Oct. 23), when it travels to California to face San Jose State at 1:00 p.m. (PT) in Spartan Gym.
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Sophomore Joi Harvey had a tremendous night on the court, tallying match-leading tallies in kills (12), hitting (.706, 12-0-17) and blocks (six – one solo, five assisted). Backed by Harvey's 12 kills – and 10 additional scores from junior BrookeLyn Messenger (on .533 hitting, 10-2-15), the Falcons out-killed the Wolfpack by a 43-26 margin and out-hit the visitors by 154 points.
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Five different Falcons accounted for multiple blocks in the match, as senior Bailey Keith (four – all assisted), freshman Mac Russ (two – both assisted), sophomore Savannah Neal (two – one solo, one assisted) and Messenger (two – both assisted) joined Harvey with stops at the net. Senior Lily Landis led the team in assists (19) and service aces (career high three), while sophomore Allie Griffith rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders with a match-high 16 digs.
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Harvey registered the Falcons' first two points, while a Keith/Russ assist and Messenger kill gave Air Force an early 4-3 lead. Back-to-back kills from Messenger and Harvey gave Air Force an 8-6 lead, while two errors and a Keith/Harvey block pushed the Falcons' advantage out to four at the 11-7 mark. Air Force maintained that margin (16-12) following another three-point run that included Landis' first ace, and used a 4-0 run off of kills from Messenger (two), Neal and Harvey to extend its lead to seven (21-14). Harvey added another strike at the 23-15 mark and two Nevada errors gave Air Force the 25-17 victory.
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Messenger and Harvey led the Falcons to a quick 4-1 lead in the second set, as a kill and ace from Messenger bookended a pair of points from Harvey (kill, block). Keith, who assisted Harvey on the block, put down the Falcons' next two points (6-4), but the Wolfpack evened the set two plays later. Air Force forced Nevada into three-straight errors (10-7), while kills from Neal, Harvey and freshman Ella Tschuor helped Air Force maintain the lead. Nevada used a 4-0 run to take the lead at 15-13, but Air Force responded with four of the next five points – including a kill by Russ, a solo block by Neal and an ace by Tschuor- to retake the lead at 17-16. Messenger had a hand in Air Force's next four points, tallying three kills and assisting Harvey on a block (22-20), while kills from Keith and Russ put the Falcons at set point (24-22). Nevada evened the set at 24, but Neal registered back-to-back kills for Air Force's 26-24 win.
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Nevada jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the third set, but a kill from Keith halted a five-point run by the Wolfpack and sent Landis to the serving line. A pair of kills from Harvey and two more aces from the senior setter highlighted a six-point swing by the Falcons that gave Air Force a 9-7 lead. The Wolfpack scored four of the next five points, to retake the lead at 11-10, but the Falcons responded with back-to-back blocks (Neal/Harvey, Russ/Messenger) and a 12-11 advantage. Another kill from Neal broke a 12-all tie and Air Force began to pull away from the visitors, using kills to extend its lead to three (Russ, 15-12) and four (Keith, 18-14). Harvey accounted for three scores (two kills, solo block) during a 5-1 run that pushed the Falcons' lead to 23-16, while kills from Neal and Russ secured the 25-19 win and the 3-0 sweep.
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Air Force begins the second half of conference play on Saturday (Oct. 23), when it travels to California to face San Jose State at 1:00 p.m. (PT) in Spartan Gym.
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Team Stats
Nevada
USAFA
Kills
26
43
Errors
19
20
Attempts
101
103
Hitting %
.069
.223
Points
35
57
Assists
24
37
Aces
5
5
Blocks
4
9
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballS/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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