Friday, February 26
USAFA
6:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
4-3,4-3Mountain West
3
vs
1
New Mexico
2-5,2-5Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
New Mexico
16
25
21
18
1
Air Force
25
22
25
25
3
Photo by: Bethany Baker / The Coloradoan
Air Force Claims 3-1 Victory over New Mexico
2/26/2021 9:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Four Falcons registered double-digit kills, en route to a 65-score output.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team improved to 4-3 on the conference season this evening (Feb. 26), after collecting a 3-1 victory over New Mexico at the Academy. Backed by double-digit kill totals from four different Falcons, Air Force defeated the visiting Lobos by a 25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18 margin.
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Sophomore BrookeLyn Messenger accounted for 14 of the Falcons' 65 kills – the highest four-set team total ever at the Cadet East Gym – as Air Force out-gained New Mexico in that statistic by 35 kills. Sophomore Vittoria Juarez and freshman Joi Harvey both collected 12 kills on the night, while senior Cambria Galloway added 10 on .450 hitting (10-1-20). In addition to their offensive production this evening, Harvey and Galloway also stepped up defensively for Air Force, each recording a solo stop, en route to total blocking tallies of four and three, respectively.
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Collecting 28 assists – one more than the whole of New Mexico's team, senior Andi Ahlers nabbed her second double-double of the year, as she tied with classmate Jordan Daniels for a team-high 14 digs. Ahlers was also one of four Falcons to serve an ace on the night, joining Messenger, Juarez and freshman Caroline Reinkensmeyer.
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Freshman Savannah Neal tallied two of the Falcons' first three kills (3-3), while Harvey added the next four to give Air Force an early 7-4 advantage. Messenger served up an ace, while junior Bailey Keith and Harvey found the floor to put the Falcons in double figures with a 10-7 lead. Messenger and Galloway both put down a pair of kills and Juarez added an ace, as Air Force began to pull away from New Mexico and pushed its lead to eight. Harvey and Keith put the Falcons at 20, while another pair of kills from Keith gave Air Force the 25-16 victory.
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Galloway and Neal put down the opening points of the second set (2-0), but the Lobos responded with five-straight tallies before Messenger stopped the run with a kill. New Mexico pushed its lead to five (8-13, 9-14), but Messenger tallied kills on three consecutive plays to pull the Falcons within two (12-14). The Lobos used another 5-0 run to take a seven-point lead (19-12) and, despite scores from Juarez (two kills), Messenger (kill), Galloway (solo block), Ahlers (ace), Keith (kill) and junior Lily Landis (kill) that closed the gap, New Mexico evened the match with a 25-22 win.
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The squads traded points in the opening minutes of the third set, with Air Force gaining its tallies from Messenger (2-1), Galloway (3-2) and Harvey (4-3). After forcing the Lobos into an error, Air Force was able to take the first two-point lead of the set at the 5-3 mark. New Mexico evened the set at six, but Air Force slowly pushed its advantage to 11-8 with a pair of kills from Juarez. New Mexico evened the set at 14, but freshman Gabby Wilson put down a kill to break the tie. Another pair of scores from Juarez and three UNM miscues gave Air Force a five-point lead at 21-16, while Messenger (kill), Galloway (kill) and Reinkensmeyer (ace) secured the 25-21 victory for the Falcons.
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Galloway opened the scoring in the fourth set, while a strike from Harvey broke a tie at two-all to give Air Force the lead for good. Juarez and Galloway each added a pair of kills to push the lead to four (9-5) and force New Mexico into an early timeout. Harvey tallied three-straight points for Air Force, posting a solo block and two kills to put the lead at five (15-10). Four different Falcons – Neal, Harvey, Keith, Juarez – registered kills for Air Force's next four points at the 20-14 mark, while additional scores from Juarez, Messenger and Galloway gave Air Force the set (25-18) and match (3-1) victory.
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Air Force and New Mexico return to Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Feb. 27) night to close out their two-match conference series.
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Sophomore BrookeLyn Messenger accounted for 14 of the Falcons' 65 kills – the highest four-set team total ever at the Cadet East Gym – as Air Force out-gained New Mexico in that statistic by 35 kills. Sophomore Vittoria Juarez and freshman Joi Harvey both collected 12 kills on the night, while senior Cambria Galloway added 10 on .450 hitting (10-1-20). In addition to their offensive production this evening, Harvey and Galloway also stepped up defensively for Air Force, each recording a solo stop, en route to total blocking tallies of four and three, respectively.
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Collecting 28 assists – one more than the whole of New Mexico's team, senior Andi Ahlers nabbed her second double-double of the year, as she tied with classmate Jordan Daniels for a team-high 14 digs. Ahlers was also one of four Falcons to serve an ace on the night, joining Messenger, Juarez and freshman Caroline Reinkensmeyer.
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Freshman Savannah Neal tallied two of the Falcons' first three kills (3-3), while Harvey added the next four to give Air Force an early 7-4 advantage. Messenger served up an ace, while junior Bailey Keith and Harvey found the floor to put the Falcons in double figures with a 10-7 lead. Messenger and Galloway both put down a pair of kills and Juarez added an ace, as Air Force began to pull away from New Mexico and pushed its lead to eight. Harvey and Keith put the Falcons at 20, while another pair of kills from Keith gave Air Force the 25-16 victory.
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Galloway and Neal put down the opening points of the second set (2-0), but the Lobos responded with five-straight tallies before Messenger stopped the run with a kill. New Mexico pushed its lead to five (8-13, 9-14), but Messenger tallied kills on three consecutive plays to pull the Falcons within two (12-14). The Lobos used another 5-0 run to take a seven-point lead (19-12) and, despite scores from Juarez (two kills), Messenger (kill), Galloway (solo block), Ahlers (ace), Keith (kill) and junior Lily Landis (kill) that closed the gap, New Mexico evened the match with a 25-22 win.
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The squads traded points in the opening minutes of the third set, with Air Force gaining its tallies from Messenger (2-1), Galloway (3-2) and Harvey (4-3). After forcing the Lobos into an error, Air Force was able to take the first two-point lead of the set at the 5-3 mark. New Mexico evened the set at six, but Air Force slowly pushed its advantage to 11-8 with a pair of kills from Juarez. New Mexico evened the set at 14, but freshman Gabby Wilson put down a kill to break the tie. Another pair of scores from Juarez and three UNM miscues gave Air Force a five-point lead at 21-16, while Messenger (kill), Galloway (kill) and Reinkensmeyer (ace) secured the 25-21 victory for the Falcons.
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Galloway opened the scoring in the fourth set, while a strike from Harvey broke a tie at two-all to give Air Force the lead for good. Juarez and Galloway each added a pair of kills to push the lead to four (9-5) and force New Mexico into an early timeout. Harvey tallied three-straight points for Air Force, posting a solo block and two kills to put the lead at five (15-10). Four different Falcons – Neal, Harvey, Keith, Juarez – registered kills for Air Force's next four points at the 20-14 mark, while additional scores from Juarez, Messenger and Galloway gave Air Force the set (25-18) and match (3-1) victory.
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Air Force and New Mexico return to Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Feb. 27) night to close out their two-match conference series.
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Team Stats
UNM
USAFA
Kills
30
65
Errors
22
30
Attempts
126
152
Hitting %
.063
.230
Points
40
76
Assists
27
60
Aces
4
4
Blocks
6
7
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
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