Saturday, August 21
USAFA
1:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Nebraska-Kearney (exh)
Photo by: Trevor Cokley
Falcons Match Best Preseason MW Ranking
8/18/2021 5:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Air Force will host Nebraska-Kearney in an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 21.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team equaled its best preseason ranking in the Mountain West this afternoon (Aug 18), as the Falcons were tabbed seventh in the annual coaches poll. The ranking matches the No. 7 nod that Air Force also claimed prior to the start of the 2015 season.
In a vote of the league's head coaches, Air Force received 46 points – just 15 points out of the top five – to rank seventh in the 11-team conference. UNLV, the defending conference champion, led the preseason standings with 98 points and eight first-place votes, while Boise State (90, two votes) and Colorado State (80, one vote) rounded out the top-three and allotment of first-place votes.
Air Force, which has improved its preseason mark in each of head coach Keith Barnett's three seasons, is coming off of a shortened 7-6 season in the Spring of 2021 – the program's first winning season in Division I conference play. By splitting the first six weeks of the season and capping the year with a 3-1 victory over Boise State, Air Force captured a win over every conference team it faced.
The Falcons return a lineup that includes MW Freshman of the Year and all-conference selection Joi Harvey, as well as fellow all-MW honoree Bailey Keith. Harvey, who became the first Falcon to claim AVCA All-Region recognition in 27 years, averaged 2.31 kills and 1.02 blocks during her first year at Air Force and hit at a .349 clip. Keith, the Falcons' reigning MVP and only player to see action in every set during each of the last two years, added a 2.45 kills per set to the Falcons' offensive production last season, while BrookeLyn Messenger (2.35) and Vittoria Juarez (2.17) also registered at least two kills a set.
Air Force added six talented newcomers – Mekayla Dedo, Ellie Eichhorn, Kate Perryman, Murphy Riggs, Mac Russ, Ella Tschuor – to a returning roster that all had playing experience last year.
EXHIBITION: With one week remaining until the start of the 2021 season, Air Force will host DII powerhouse Nebraska-Kearney in an exhibition this Saturday (Aug. 18) at Cadet East Gym. The Lopers, who went 16-3 during a 'non-countable' spring season, finished their last official campaign (2019) as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Championships. Nebraska-Kearney posted 38-1 record that year, sweeping through the first 38 matches, before falling to also-undefeated Cal State San Bernardino in the national final (3-1).
Air Force opens the 2021 season next weekend (Aug. 27-28), when it heads to DeKalb, Ill., to face CSU Bakersfield, William & Mary and tournament host Northern Illinois at the Huskie Invitational.
Current Defense Department and Air Force Academy rules require all individuals to wear a mask inside Academy facilities. All individuals who have not been fully vaccinated must wear masks outside on military installations.
In a vote of the league's head coaches, Air Force received 46 points – just 15 points out of the top five – to rank seventh in the 11-team conference. UNLV, the defending conference champion, led the preseason standings with 98 points and eight first-place votes, while Boise State (90, two votes) and Colorado State (80, one vote) rounded out the top-three and allotment of first-place votes.
Air Force, which has improved its preseason mark in each of head coach Keith Barnett's three seasons, is coming off of a shortened 7-6 season in the Spring of 2021 – the program's first winning season in Division I conference play. By splitting the first six weeks of the season and capping the year with a 3-1 victory over Boise State, Air Force captured a win over every conference team it faced.
The Falcons return a lineup that includes MW Freshman of the Year and all-conference selection Joi Harvey, as well as fellow all-MW honoree Bailey Keith. Harvey, who became the first Falcon to claim AVCA All-Region recognition in 27 years, averaged 2.31 kills and 1.02 blocks during her first year at Air Force and hit at a .349 clip. Keith, the Falcons' reigning MVP and only player to see action in every set during each of the last two years, added a 2.45 kills per set to the Falcons' offensive production last season, while BrookeLyn Messenger (2.35) and Vittoria Juarez (2.17) also registered at least two kills a set.
Air Force added six talented newcomers – Mekayla Dedo, Ellie Eichhorn, Kate Perryman, Murphy Riggs, Mac Russ, Ella Tschuor – to a returning roster that all had playing experience last year.
EXHIBITION: With one week remaining until the start of the 2021 season, Air Force will host DII powerhouse Nebraska-Kearney in an exhibition this Saturday (Aug. 18) at Cadet East Gym. The Lopers, who went 16-3 during a 'non-countable' spring season, finished their last official campaign (2019) as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Championships. Nebraska-Kearney posted 38-1 record that year, sweeping through the first 38 matches, before falling to also-undefeated Cal State San Bernardino in the national final (3-1).
Air Force opens the 2021 season next weekend (Aug. 27-28), when it heads to DeKalb, Ill., to face CSU Bakersfield, William & Mary and tournament host Northern Illinois at the Huskie Invitational.
Current Defense Department and Air Force Academy rules require all individuals to wear a mask inside Academy facilities. All individuals who have not been fully vaccinated must wear masks outside on military installations.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
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