Air Force Stuns Colorado State, Snaps Losing Skid to the Rams

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team stunned Colorado State this evening (Feb. 6) in Fort Collins, as it captured a straight-set victory over the defending conference champion Rams on their home court. Backed by a balanced team effort, the Falcons snapped a 53-match losing skid to Colorado State during the 25-19, 26-25, 25-22 victory.

The Falcons became the first team since 2010 to sweep the Rams in Mountain West action.

It was an impressive, well-rounded performance by Air Force, who last defeated the Rams in 1982. Five different Falcons accounted for at least five kills on the night, as Air Force combined to hit at a .301 (43-12-103) clip. Senior Cambria Galloway and sophomore BrookeLyn Messenger tallied nine kills apiece, while freshmen Aaryn Scires and Joi Harvey each added eight. Backed by a match-high four scoring serves from freshman Gabby Wilson, six Falcons combined for 10 total aces. Air Force's balanced outing also came from 19 assists from both senior Andi Ahlers and junior Abigail Collins, as well as nine digs apiece from Messenger and senior Jordan Daniels. Accounting for a match-high four assisted blocks, Harvey was one of five Falcons to record multiple blocks during tonight's 12-block outing.

Despite a slow start that saw the Falcons fall into an early 2-7 hole, Air Force came roaring out of the timeout to tie the set at nine, take the lead three points later, and eventually push its advantage to six. Tallying a kill and an ace on back-to-back plays, junior Bailey Keith got the scoring run started for the Falcons, while Messenger (two), Scires and Harvey also put down scores during that set-tying stretch. After the Rams stopped the run, Air Force registered a string of kills from Messenger, Scires and Keith, while Daniels added an ace to give Air Force a 17-11 advantage. Collins served up an ace of her own at the 19-12 mark, while a kill from Keith put the Falcons at 20 with a seven-point lead (20-13). Tallying two aces and a kill, Wilson strung together three-straight points to push Air Force's lead out to 23-14. The Rams responded with the next five scores to cut the Falcons' lead to four, but Scires and Messenger put down consecutive kills to give Air Force the 25-19 victory.

Wilson and Scires combined for the Falcons' first three points of the second set, while an ace from Keith tied the game at five. Two Harvey-assisted blocks book-ended a five-point run by the Falcons that put the score at 10-8, but the Rams responded with the next seven points to take a 15-10 lead. Harvey put down a kill to stop the Colorado State run, while kills from Galloway (two), Messenger (two), Scires and Keith chipped away at the Ram's advantage and pulled Air Force within one on five different occasions. Wilson tied the set at 21 with another service ace, while Scires recorded a kill that allowed Air Force to retake the lead on the ensuing play. The Rams evened the set at 22 – and again at 24 – but Air Force responded with kills from Galloway and Keith to take a two-set advantage in the match with the 26-24 win.

After securing the second set with back-to-back kills, Galloway and Keith teamed up for a block to open the third frame. The Rams scored five of the next six points (5-2), but the Falcons forced Colorado State into a pair of errors that helped tie the set at six. Harvey had a hand in four of the Falcons' next five points, registering three kills and assisting on a block with Scires. Following an ace from Ahlers that sent CSU into an early timeout trailing 9-7, Galloway registered kills for three of the Falcons' next four points and assisted on a block (Harvey) that extended Air Force's advantage to six (15-9). The Rams cut the lead in half at the 18-15 mark and used a 4-1 run to pull within two (21-19), before Galloway put down a kill. A pair of freshmen secured the win for Air Force, as Wilson recorded the penultimate kill and Harvey put down the final point to give Air Force the 25-22 win and its first Division I victory over Colorado State.

Air Force opens the home portion of its conference season next weekend (Feb. 12-13), when it hosts San Jose State on back-to-back nights at Cadet East Gym.

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