Falcons Fall to UNLV on the Road

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Air Force volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss to UNLV this evening (Nov. 3) in Las Vegas, falling in 17-25, 16-25, 23-25 sets.

Sophomore Mac Russ led the Falcons with eight kills, while sharing the team lead in blocks (two, both assisted) with senior BrookeLyn Messenger (one solo, one assisted) and junior Caroline Reinkensmeyer (one solo, one assisted). Reinkensmeyer added a team-high two aces, 18 assists and 10 digs for another double-double – the 10th of her career, while freshman Jordan Suan rounded out the Falcons' stat leaders with 12 digs.

A kill from freshman Ashley Bible highlighted a 3-0 start to the match for the Falcons, but the Rebels responded with three scores of their own to tie the set at three. Junior Aaryn Scires stopped the run with a pair of kills to return the advantage to Air Force (5-3), but UNLV scored the next five points to take the lead. The Rebels broke the set open with a 12-3 run, with the Falcons earning their points off kills from Russ (two) and Messenger during that stretch. Senior Sarah Markwardt added a kill at the 11-21 mark and, although the Falcons forced the Rebels into several errors in the final moments of the set, UNLV took the opening round by a score of 25-17.

Junior Joi Harvey struck first in the second and the teams tied the next four scores, with Scires accounting for two of the Falcons' points. Consecutive strikes from Messenger and Reinkensmeyer broke up the back-and-forth action at the 6-4 mark, but the Rebels responded with four of the next five points to take an 8-7 lead. Markwardt registered a pair of set-tying kills, with the second evening the score at nine. UNLV scored six of the next seven to take a 15-10 lead. Air Force pulled within two (13-15), behind a kill from sophomore Ella Tschuor and a pair of blocks from Reinkensmeyer (one solo, one assisted with Russ). Russ added another pair of kills, but UNLV took the set by a 25-16 score.

After benefitting from several UNLV errors, Russ recorded the Falcons' first offensive score of the set to give Air Force a 6-5 lead. A pair of service aces from Reinkensmeyer highlighted a 5-0 run by Air Force, that included kills from Markwardt and Harvey, and ended with the Falcons holding a five-point lead (11-6). Air Force maintained that advantage off strike from freshman Savanah Johnson (12-7) and a solo block from Messenger (14-9), but the Rebels came back to tie the set at 17 and take their first lead on the ensuing play. Air Force tied the set at 18 – and again at 19, while three kills (Johnson, Russ, Messenger) and one block evened the score at 23, but the Rebels scored the final two points for the 25-23 win.

After a busy week of competition, the Falcons are off until next Thursday (Nov. 10), when they head up Interstate-25 for their final road trip of the year. Air Force will take on Wyoming in Laramie that night, before heading to Fort Collins to face Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 12.

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Team Stats

Mac Russ

Sarah Markwardt

BrookeLyn Messenger

Aaryn Scires

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