Saturday, February 20
Reno, Nev.
2:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
3
at
0
Nevada
Photo by: Trevor Cokley
Air Force Downs Nevada in Straight Sets
2/20/2021 4:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Two of Abigail Collins' team-leading four service aces accounted for set-winning points.
RENO, Nev. – The Air Force volleyball team improved to .500 on the season this afternoon (Feb. 20), as it captured a 3-0 road victory over Nevada at Virginia Street Gym in Reno. After surviving a 26-24 set in the first, the Falcons rolled to a pair of 25-14 wins and its second sweep of the season. The win gave Air Force a 3-3 record on the year – marking just the third time since joining the Mountain West that the Falcons have held a .500 record six matches into a conference season.
Junior Abigail Collins had a strong day at the serving line, accounting for half of the Falcons' eight service aces – including two that accounted for the final two points of the 26-24 win in the first set and another that served as the match-winning point in the third set.
Classmate Vittoria Juarez tallied a match-best 10 kills, while Joi Harvey hit at a .455 clip (7-2-11) to mark the fourth time in five matches that the freshman has hit over .400 in a contest. As a team, the Falcons hit .235 (35-15-85) and held the Wolfpack to .012 hitting (25-24-86) – the lowest opponent average of the year against the Falcons. Air Force combined for nine total blocks on the day, including solo stops from freshman Aaryn Scires (two), Collins, Harvey and freshman Savannah Neal. Harvey also assisted on three additional blocks, nearly matching the total blocking output of the host team (3.0-2.5). Senior Andi Ahlers tied for the match-lead with 19 assists and sophomore BrookeLyn Messenger led Air Force with six digs.
Messenger accounted for the Falcons' first offensive tally of the match (2-2) and added a second to keep Air Force within one at the 3-4 mark. Nevada pulled out to a three-point lead on the ensuing plays, but Harvey bookended a block with two kills to single-handedly tied the score at six. Kills from Juarez and junior Bailey Keith helped Air Force take a 10-8 lead, while strikes from Scires and Juarez pushed the Falcons' advantage to three at 13-10. Nevada responded with five of the next six points to take the 15-14 lead, while a kill from Harvey helped Air Force tie the set at 17. Air Force benefitted from a pair of Nevada errors to retake the lead three points later, while a kill from Keith gave Air Force the 22-19 advantage. The Wolfpack used another 5-1 run to go ahead 24-23, but Messenger put down a kill to tie the set at 24 and send Collins back to serve. Recording back-to-back aces, Collins claimed the 26-24 victory for the Falcons.
The opening minutes of the second set was a back-and-forth affair, with Air Force earning kills from Juarez (1-2) and Neal (3-4). Collins put down a kill to tie the set at five and spark a 12-3 run by the Falcons that ended with Air Force doubling up the Wolfpack by a 16-8 margin. Air Force accounted for three aces during the run (two from Messenger, one from senior Alex King), while Harvey added a pair of kills and Collins recorded a block. Air Force added to its offensive point production with kills from Harvey (two), Messenger and Juarez. Holding a 21-14 advantage, the Falcons used an Ahlers ace, a Keith/Scires block and a Juarez kill to score the final four points of the set and claim the 25-14 win.
Air Force continued its scoring streak into the third, as it used kills from Juarez (two) and Messenger to tally the first three points of the set. Juarez added another score at the 4-2 mark, while a kill from Ahlers and an ace from Collins pushed the Falcons' lead to four (8-4). The Falcons forced the Wolfpack into six errors that helped Air Force extend its advantage to seven (15-8), while a kill from Keith saw Air Force claim a 16-8 lead for the second-straight set. Scires added for a kill and solo stop, while a pair of scores from Juarez helped Air Force take a 12-point lead (22-10) during a 6-0 run. Scires accounted for another solo stop to put the Falcons at match-point, while Collins secured the 25-14 win with her fourth ace.
The Falcons return to the Academy on Friday, Feb. 26, when they kick off a two-week homestand with back-to-back conference contests against New Mexico at Cadet East Gym.
Junior Abigail Collins had a strong day at the serving line, accounting for half of the Falcons' eight service aces – including two that accounted for the final two points of the 26-24 win in the first set and another that served as the match-winning point in the third set.
Classmate Vittoria Juarez tallied a match-best 10 kills, while Joi Harvey hit at a .455 clip (7-2-11) to mark the fourth time in five matches that the freshman has hit over .400 in a contest. As a team, the Falcons hit .235 (35-15-85) and held the Wolfpack to .012 hitting (25-24-86) – the lowest opponent average of the year against the Falcons. Air Force combined for nine total blocks on the day, including solo stops from freshman Aaryn Scires (two), Collins, Harvey and freshman Savannah Neal. Harvey also assisted on three additional blocks, nearly matching the total blocking output of the host team (3.0-2.5). Senior Andi Ahlers tied for the match-lead with 19 assists and sophomore BrookeLyn Messenger led Air Force with six digs.
Messenger accounted for the Falcons' first offensive tally of the match (2-2) and added a second to keep Air Force within one at the 3-4 mark. Nevada pulled out to a three-point lead on the ensuing plays, but Harvey bookended a block with two kills to single-handedly tied the score at six. Kills from Juarez and junior Bailey Keith helped Air Force take a 10-8 lead, while strikes from Scires and Juarez pushed the Falcons' advantage to three at 13-10. Nevada responded with five of the next six points to take the 15-14 lead, while a kill from Harvey helped Air Force tie the set at 17. Air Force benefitted from a pair of Nevada errors to retake the lead three points later, while a kill from Keith gave Air Force the 22-19 advantage. The Wolfpack used another 5-1 run to go ahead 24-23, but Messenger put down a kill to tie the set at 24 and send Collins back to serve. Recording back-to-back aces, Collins claimed the 26-24 victory for the Falcons.
The opening minutes of the second set was a back-and-forth affair, with Air Force earning kills from Juarez (1-2) and Neal (3-4). Collins put down a kill to tie the set at five and spark a 12-3 run by the Falcons that ended with Air Force doubling up the Wolfpack by a 16-8 margin. Air Force accounted for three aces during the run (two from Messenger, one from senior Alex King), while Harvey added a pair of kills and Collins recorded a block. Air Force added to its offensive point production with kills from Harvey (two), Messenger and Juarez. Holding a 21-14 advantage, the Falcons used an Ahlers ace, a Keith/Scires block and a Juarez kill to score the final four points of the set and claim the 25-14 win.
Air Force continued its scoring streak into the third, as it used kills from Juarez (two) and Messenger to tally the first three points of the set. Juarez added another score at the 4-2 mark, while a kill from Ahlers and an ace from Collins pushed the Falcons' lead to four (8-4). The Falcons forced the Wolfpack into six errors that helped Air Force extend its advantage to seven (15-8), while a kill from Keith saw Air Force claim a 16-8 lead for the second-straight set. Scires added for a kill and solo stop, while a pair of scores from Juarez helped Air Force take a 12-point lead (22-10) during a 6-0 run. Scires accounted for another solo stop to put the Falcons at match-point, while Collins secured the 25-14 win with her fourth ace.
The Falcons return to the Academy on Friday, Feb. 26, when they kick off a two-week homestand with back-to-back conference contests against New Mexico at Cadet East Gym.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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OH
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S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OPP
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