Saturday, October 1
USAFA
4:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
2
vs
3
Wyoming (Alumni Night)
Falcons Drop Five-Setter to Wyoming
10/1/2022 8:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Joi Harvey led the Falcons with 15 kills - the second-highest outing of her career.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team's comeback fell short on Saturday (Oct. 1) evening, as the Falcons dropped a tough five-set conference contest to Wyoming at Cadet East Gym. With the 25-21, 25-27, 13-25, 25-23, 8-15 loss to the visiting Cowgirls, the Falcons fell to .500 on the year (8-8).
Junior Joi Harvey led the Falcons with 15 kills, while sophomore Mac Russ hit .444 on the night with nine kills on 18 swings (one error). The pair also accounted for four blocks each, with Russ registering a solo stop on her line, while fellow sophomore Ella Tschuor assisted on a match-high five stops. Senior Sarah Markwardt tallied a team-high 10 digs, while accounting for one of the team's eight aces – a category that sophomore Murphy Riggs led with three. Junior Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who also registered an ace on the night, tallied nearly half (19) of the team's 41 assists.
The Falcons came out strong to start the match, jumping out to a fast 10-2 lead following multiple points from Harvey (kill, assisted block), Tschuor (kill, assisted block) and senior BrookeLyn Messenger (kill, ace). Wyoming cut their deficit to three at the 12-9 mark, but kills from Russ, Messenger and Markwardt helped push the Falcons' advantage to five (17-12). The Cowgirls again cut into Air Force's lead, pulling within one at 18-17, but Markwardt put down a kill and teamed up with Russ during a 3-0 run by the Falcons, while a pair of kills from Messenger, as well as a strike from freshman Savanah Johnson, secured the 25-21 win.
Air Force took another quick 4-1 lead to start the second set, while a pair of kills from Messenger saw Air Force double-up the Cowgirls at 6-3. Benefitting off several Wyoming errors, the Falcons took a 10-4 lead, but the Cowgirls cut into the lead and eventually evened the score at 14-all. Russ put down a kill to stop the run, while another Harvey/Tschuor block, as well as a service ace by junior Amber Soto pushed the Falcons' advantage out to three (17-14). Harvey tallied three kills to help Air Force take a 23-19 lead, but Wyoming scored eight of next 10 points for the narrow 27-25 victory.
The teams traded the first few points of the third set, as a pair of Harvey kills helped tie the score at six. Wyoming used three long scoring runs to take a 17-9 lead, with Air Force earning its offense from Johnson and junior Savannah Neal. Messenger and Markwardt added kills, but Wyoming rolled to the 25-13 win.
The fourth set started with more back-and-forth action, as Markwardt (kill at 2-2, ace at 5-5), Neal (kill at 3-3), Tschuor (kill at 8-8) accounted for the Falcons' set-tying points. Harvey put down a pair of strikes to give Air Force the lead (10-8, 11-10), while a kill from Russ broke a 14-all tie and a service ace from Reinkensmeyer put Air Force up two (16-14). Back-to-back aces from Riggs pushed the Falcons' lead to four (20-16), but Wyoming rolled off four-straight points to tie the set at 20. The teams traded the next six points, before a kill from Harvey and an ace from junior Allie Griffith gave secured the 25-23 victory.
Wyoming struck early and often to start the deciding set, as only a pair of Harvey kills broke up the visitors' 7-2 opening. Russ added a pair of kills (3-6, 5-9), but the Cowgirls used a 5-1 run to push their advantage to eight (14-6). Harvey added back-to-back kills, but Wyoming completed the win by a 15-8 margin.
Air Force has a quick turnaround on its schedule, as it travels to New Mexico on Tuesday (Oct. 4) for a midweek matchup with its conference travel partners.
Junior Joi Harvey led the Falcons with 15 kills, while sophomore Mac Russ hit .444 on the night with nine kills on 18 swings (one error). The pair also accounted for four blocks each, with Russ registering a solo stop on her line, while fellow sophomore Ella Tschuor assisted on a match-high five stops. Senior Sarah Markwardt tallied a team-high 10 digs, while accounting for one of the team's eight aces – a category that sophomore Murphy Riggs led with three. Junior Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who also registered an ace on the night, tallied nearly half (19) of the team's 41 assists.
The Falcons came out strong to start the match, jumping out to a fast 10-2 lead following multiple points from Harvey (kill, assisted block), Tschuor (kill, assisted block) and senior BrookeLyn Messenger (kill, ace). Wyoming cut their deficit to three at the 12-9 mark, but kills from Russ, Messenger and Markwardt helped push the Falcons' advantage to five (17-12). The Cowgirls again cut into Air Force's lead, pulling within one at 18-17, but Markwardt put down a kill and teamed up with Russ during a 3-0 run by the Falcons, while a pair of kills from Messenger, as well as a strike from freshman Savanah Johnson, secured the 25-21 win.
Air Force took another quick 4-1 lead to start the second set, while a pair of kills from Messenger saw Air Force double-up the Cowgirls at 6-3. Benefitting off several Wyoming errors, the Falcons took a 10-4 lead, but the Cowgirls cut into the lead and eventually evened the score at 14-all. Russ put down a kill to stop the run, while another Harvey/Tschuor block, as well as a service ace by junior Amber Soto pushed the Falcons' advantage out to three (17-14). Harvey tallied three kills to help Air Force take a 23-19 lead, but Wyoming scored eight of next 10 points for the narrow 27-25 victory.
The teams traded the first few points of the third set, as a pair of Harvey kills helped tie the score at six. Wyoming used three long scoring runs to take a 17-9 lead, with Air Force earning its offense from Johnson and junior Savannah Neal. Messenger and Markwardt added kills, but Wyoming rolled to the 25-13 win.
The fourth set started with more back-and-forth action, as Markwardt (kill at 2-2, ace at 5-5), Neal (kill at 3-3), Tschuor (kill at 8-8) accounted for the Falcons' set-tying points. Harvey put down a pair of strikes to give Air Force the lead (10-8, 11-10), while a kill from Russ broke a 14-all tie and a service ace from Reinkensmeyer put Air Force up two (16-14). Back-to-back aces from Riggs pushed the Falcons' lead to four (20-16), but Wyoming rolled off four-straight points to tie the set at 20. The teams traded the next six points, before a kill from Harvey and an ace from junior Allie Griffith gave secured the 25-23 victory.
Wyoming struck early and often to start the deciding set, as only a pair of Harvey kills broke up the visitors' 7-2 opening. Russ added a pair of kills (3-6, 5-9), but the Cowgirls used a 5-1 run to push their advantage to eight (14-6). Harvey added back-to-back kills, but Wyoming completed the win by a 15-8 margin.
Air Force has a quick turnaround on its schedule, as it travels to New Mexico on Tuesday (Oct. 4) for a midweek matchup with its conference travel partners.
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMacey Donathan Interview Sept 30, 2025
Tuesday, September 30
Falcons open up MW play with sweep of Nevada
Thursday, September 25
Macey Donathan Interview Sept 23, 2025
Tuesday, September 23
Utah Tech gives Falcons a loss in four sets
Saturday, September 20
