Saturday, September 11
USAFA
1:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
1-7,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
1
Cal State Fullerton
2-4,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Cal St. Fullerton
22
25
13
23
1
Air Force
25
22
25
25
3
Photo by: Josh Armstrong
Falcons Down Cal State Fullerton
9/11/2021 5:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Air Force defeated the Titans 3-1 for its first win of the 2021 season.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – A career day from freshman Mac Russ paced the Air Force volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton this afternoon (Sept. 11) during the squad's home opener at Cadet East Gym. The Falcons registered their first win of the season with a 25-21, 22-25, 25-13, 25-23 victory over the visiting Titans in the final match of the Thin Air Challenge.
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Russ led the Falcons with career-high totals in kills (11) and blocks (nine), while recording her first collegiate ace and hitting at a .345 clip (11-2-26). The first-year Falcon, whose blocking tally includes three solo stops – a mark just one shy of the program's single-match record in the 25-point scoring era, helped Air Force to out-block the Titans by a 13-7 margin. Senior Bailey Keith and sophomore Joi Harvey each tallied four assisted blocks, while sophomore Caroline Reinkensmeyer, freshman Ella Tschuor and sophomore Savannah Neal all assisted on a pair of stops.
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Harvey led the match with a career-matching .750 hitting performance, tallying nine kills on 12 swings (no errors) in just two sets of action. Reinkensmeyer (18) and senior Abigail Collins (16) combined for 34 of Air Force's 45 assists, while sophomore Allie Griffith led all players in aces (two) and digs (14) to round out the Falcons' list of stat leaders.
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Junior BrookeLyn Messenger registered the opening point of the match and was quickly followed by scores from Keith and junior Taleah Cooper (3-2). After Fullerton took a 4-3 lead, strikes from Russ, Neal and senior Vittoria Juarez backed a four-point run that saw the Falcons take a 7-4 lead. Russ (two) and Neal added more kills to help Air Force extend its lead to five (12-7), while Russ and Keith teamed up for a block to keep that five-point spread at 17-12. The Falcons received scores from Juarez (kill), Neal (kill) and Russ (ace) for the 20-15 lead, while another strike from Juarez halted a 4-1 run by the Titans that brought the visitors within two (21-19). Russ, four-of-eight on the attack during the opening set, put down the final kill to give Air Force the 25-21 victory.
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Fullerton came out strong in the second set, jumping out to an early 10-4 lead. Air Force responded with kills from Tschuor, Keith and Cooper, while a Russ/Juarez block that followed several diving saves from Griffith, brought Air Force within four (11-15). Russ (12-16) and Tschuor (13-17, 14-18) kept the Falcons within that margin, before Air Force rolled off four-straight points to cut its deficit to one at the 18-19 mark. Reinkensmeyer (kill), Russ (block) and Griffith (ace) contributed to that run, while Russ tallied three more points (one kill, two blocks with Neal) during another four-point stretch that evened the set at 22. The Titans claimed the final three points to even the match with a 25-22 win.
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It was all Air Force in the opening minutes of the third set, as scores from Juarez (two kills), Harvey (kill), Griffith (ace) and Keith (kill) helped the Falcons roll out to a 10-1 advantage. Fullerton responded with six of the next seven points to pull within four (11-7), but a kill and ace from Juarez quickly sparked a 4-0 run by Air Force to push its lead out to eight (15-7). Russ, who teamed up with Tschuor for a block during the run, added another score, while Harvey and Keith each tallied a kill and shared a block to give Air Force a 10-point lead at the 21-11 mark. Back-to-back solo stops from Russ highlighted another four-point run that ended with the Falcons taking the set by an impressive 25-13 score.
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Harvey struck first in the fourth set, but the Titans jumped out to an early 10-4 advantage. The sophomore added two more scores, while the Falcons forced Fullerton into several attacking errors that brought Air Force within one (11-12). The Titans scored five of the next six points to go up 17-12, but a run that included a Neal kill and Russ/Tschuor block brought the Falcons within two (15-17). The Titans retook a five-point margin (21-16) and Air Force again responded, as two kills from both Tschuor and Harvey bookended a Keith/Harvey block that helped Air Force even the match at 21. Fullerton scored the next two points, but Harvey was involved in the final four – two kills, block with Juarez, block with Keith – to help Air Force take the 25-23 come-from-behind victory and claim its first win of the 2021 season.
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The Falcons remain at the Academy next week (Sept. 17-18) to host Iowa and Incarnate Word in the Mile High Invitational. While the two visitors face one another at Cadet East Gym at 11:00 a.m. (MT) on Friday, Sept. 17, Air Force opens their part of the tournament against the Hawkeyes later that night (6:00 p.m.).
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Russ led the Falcons with career-high totals in kills (11) and blocks (nine), while recording her first collegiate ace and hitting at a .345 clip (11-2-26). The first-year Falcon, whose blocking tally includes three solo stops – a mark just one shy of the program's single-match record in the 25-point scoring era, helped Air Force to out-block the Titans by a 13-7 margin. Senior Bailey Keith and sophomore Joi Harvey each tallied four assisted blocks, while sophomore Caroline Reinkensmeyer, freshman Ella Tschuor and sophomore Savannah Neal all assisted on a pair of stops.
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Harvey led the match with a career-matching .750 hitting performance, tallying nine kills on 12 swings (no errors) in just two sets of action. Reinkensmeyer (18) and senior Abigail Collins (16) combined for 34 of Air Force's 45 assists, while sophomore Allie Griffith led all players in aces (two) and digs (14) to round out the Falcons' list of stat leaders.
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Junior BrookeLyn Messenger registered the opening point of the match and was quickly followed by scores from Keith and junior Taleah Cooper (3-2). After Fullerton took a 4-3 lead, strikes from Russ, Neal and senior Vittoria Juarez backed a four-point run that saw the Falcons take a 7-4 lead. Russ (two) and Neal added more kills to help Air Force extend its lead to five (12-7), while Russ and Keith teamed up for a block to keep that five-point spread at 17-12. The Falcons received scores from Juarez (kill), Neal (kill) and Russ (ace) for the 20-15 lead, while another strike from Juarez halted a 4-1 run by the Titans that brought the visitors within two (21-19). Russ, four-of-eight on the attack during the opening set, put down the final kill to give Air Force the 25-21 victory.
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Fullerton came out strong in the second set, jumping out to an early 10-4 lead. Air Force responded with kills from Tschuor, Keith and Cooper, while a Russ/Juarez block that followed several diving saves from Griffith, brought Air Force within four (11-15). Russ (12-16) and Tschuor (13-17, 14-18) kept the Falcons within that margin, before Air Force rolled off four-straight points to cut its deficit to one at the 18-19 mark. Reinkensmeyer (kill), Russ (block) and Griffith (ace) contributed to that run, while Russ tallied three more points (one kill, two blocks with Neal) during another four-point stretch that evened the set at 22. The Titans claimed the final three points to even the match with a 25-22 win.
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It was all Air Force in the opening minutes of the third set, as scores from Juarez (two kills), Harvey (kill), Griffith (ace) and Keith (kill) helped the Falcons roll out to a 10-1 advantage. Fullerton responded with six of the next seven points to pull within four (11-7), but a kill and ace from Juarez quickly sparked a 4-0 run by Air Force to push its lead out to eight (15-7). Russ, who teamed up with Tschuor for a block during the run, added another score, while Harvey and Keith each tallied a kill and shared a block to give Air Force a 10-point lead at the 21-11 mark. Back-to-back solo stops from Russ highlighted another four-point run that ended with the Falcons taking the set by an impressive 25-13 score.
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Harvey struck first in the fourth set, but the Titans jumped out to an early 10-4 advantage. The sophomore added two more scores, while the Falcons forced Fullerton into several attacking errors that brought Air Force within one (11-12). The Titans scored five of the next six points to go up 17-12, but a run that included a Neal kill and Russ/Tschuor block brought the Falcons within two (15-17). The Titans retook a five-point margin (21-16) and Air Force again responded, as two kills from both Tschuor and Harvey bookended a Keith/Harvey block that helped Air Force even the match at 21. Fullerton scored the next two points, but Harvey was involved in the final four – two kills, block with Juarez, block with Keith – to help Air Force take the 25-23 come-from-behind victory and claim its first win of the 2021 season.
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The Falcons remain at the Academy next week (Sept. 17-18) to host Iowa and Incarnate Word in the Mile High Invitational. While the two visitors face one another at Cadet East Gym at 11:00 a.m. (MT) on Friday, Sept. 17, Air Force opens their part of the tournament against the Hawkeyes later that night (6:00 p.m.).
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Team Stats
CSF
USAFA
Kills
47
51
Errors
32
24
Attempts
150
137
Hitting %
.100
.197
Points
57
68
Assists
45
45
Aces
3
4
Blocks
7
13
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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