Friday, August 26
USAFA
6:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
1-0,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
0
Texas A&M Commerce
0-1,0-0Southland
1
2
3
F
Tex. A&M-Commerce
18
23
26
0
Air Force
25
25
28
3
Falcons Sweep Lions in Season Opener
8/26/2022 9:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Falcons opened the season with a 25-18, 25-23. 28-26 victory.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team kicked off the 2022 season with a 3-0 sweep of Texas A&M Commerce on Friday, Aug. 26, during its opening match of the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at the Academy's Cadet East Gym. Backed by an 11-kill outing from junior Joi Harvey, the Falcons downed the Lions in straight 25-18, 25-23, 28-26 sets to improve to 15-12 in home openers at the DI level.
Harvey, whose 11 kills came on a match-leading .529 performance (11-2-17), was one of two Falcons to hit at least .400 in the match, as senior BrookeLyn Messenger added eight kills on .400 hitting (8-2-15). As a team, the Falcons outhit the visiting Lions by a 184-point margin (.245-.061), while holding a 41-30 advantage on kills. Senior Sarah Markwardt (four) and Messenger (three) combined for seven of the team's eight aces, while junior Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who added the final ace, tallied 18 assists as she shared setting duties with freshman Greta Hans (16). Defensively, sophomore Murphy Riggs tallied a match-high 12 digs and Harvey led the Falcons with five blocks (all assisted).
Messenger officially kicked off the season, as she put down a kill for the first point of the match. Another score by the senior, as well as strikes from sophomore Ella Tschuor and junior Aaryn Scires pushed the Falcons to a 5-3 lead, while Markwardt put down a kill that saw Air Force double up the Lions by an 8-4 score. TAMUC responded to take an 11-10 lead, but Harvey and Tschuor teamed up for a block to return the lead to the Falcons (12-11). A Messenger ace, followed by a kill and block from Harvey, gave Air Force a four-point lead (16-12) and sent the Lions into a timeout. Markwardt registered a kill and a solo block, as Air Force pushed its advantage to seven at the 20-13 mark. Messenger and Hans added kills, as the Falcons claimed the opening set by a 25-18 margin.
TAMUC took an early 6-2 lead to start the second set, but a kill from Messenger and back-to-back aces from Markwardt helped Air Force tie the set at six. Scires put down a kill for an 8-7 Air Force lead, but the Lions used a 6-1 run to take another four-point lead at the 13-9 mark. Air Force collected another pair of consecutive aces, this time by Messenger, to even the set at 13, while a kill from Harvey helped the Falcons take a 15-14 advantage. The squads traded the next few points, but the Lions pushed their lead to three at 20-17. Kills from Tschuor and classmate Mac Russ helped Air Force even the set at 20, while another pair of scores from the sophomore teammates gave Ari Force a 22-21 lead. The Lions tied the set at 23-all, but the Falcons forced the visitors into an attacking error that secured Air Force's 25-23 win.
The Lions struck first in the third set, rolling out to a 3-1 lead before points from Scires (kill) and Messenger (solo block) tied the set at four. The teams traded points, with Air Force earning set-tying kills from Messenger (6-6) and Tschuor (7-7). A pair of Harvey kills bookended Reinkensmeyer's ace and another Messenger kill, as Air Force scored four-straight points to take an 11-7 lead. The Falcons kept that margin following a Markwardt kill (13-9), but the Lions pulled within one at 15-14. A Scires kill and Markwardt ace pushed the Falcons' advantage to three (17-14), but TAMUC again came back to tie the set at 22 and take the lead on the next point. Harvey tied the set at 23, while another strike by the junior gave Air Force at 25-24 lead. Markwardt registered her fourth ace of the match at 27-25 and the Falcons forced the Lions into a hitting error to complete the sweep with a 28-26 victory.
Air Force returns to Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Aug 27) for its final two matches of the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic. The Falcons will face CSUN at 12:30 p.m., before hosting Drake in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m. (MT).
Harvey, whose 11 kills came on a match-leading .529 performance (11-2-17), was one of two Falcons to hit at least .400 in the match, as senior BrookeLyn Messenger added eight kills on .400 hitting (8-2-15). As a team, the Falcons outhit the visiting Lions by a 184-point margin (.245-.061), while holding a 41-30 advantage on kills. Senior Sarah Markwardt (four) and Messenger (three) combined for seven of the team's eight aces, while junior Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who added the final ace, tallied 18 assists as she shared setting duties with freshman Greta Hans (16). Defensively, sophomore Murphy Riggs tallied a match-high 12 digs and Harvey led the Falcons with five blocks (all assisted).
Messenger officially kicked off the season, as she put down a kill for the first point of the match. Another score by the senior, as well as strikes from sophomore Ella Tschuor and junior Aaryn Scires pushed the Falcons to a 5-3 lead, while Markwardt put down a kill that saw Air Force double up the Lions by an 8-4 score. TAMUC responded to take an 11-10 lead, but Harvey and Tschuor teamed up for a block to return the lead to the Falcons (12-11). A Messenger ace, followed by a kill and block from Harvey, gave Air Force a four-point lead (16-12) and sent the Lions into a timeout. Markwardt registered a kill and a solo block, as Air Force pushed its advantage to seven at the 20-13 mark. Messenger and Hans added kills, as the Falcons claimed the opening set by a 25-18 margin.
TAMUC took an early 6-2 lead to start the second set, but a kill from Messenger and back-to-back aces from Markwardt helped Air Force tie the set at six. Scires put down a kill for an 8-7 Air Force lead, but the Lions used a 6-1 run to take another four-point lead at the 13-9 mark. Air Force collected another pair of consecutive aces, this time by Messenger, to even the set at 13, while a kill from Harvey helped the Falcons take a 15-14 advantage. The squads traded the next few points, but the Lions pushed their lead to three at 20-17. Kills from Tschuor and classmate Mac Russ helped Air Force even the set at 20, while another pair of scores from the sophomore teammates gave Ari Force a 22-21 lead. The Lions tied the set at 23-all, but the Falcons forced the visitors into an attacking error that secured Air Force's 25-23 win.
The Lions struck first in the third set, rolling out to a 3-1 lead before points from Scires (kill) and Messenger (solo block) tied the set at four. The teams traded points, with Air Force earning set-tying kills from Messenger (6-6) and Tschuor (7-7). A pair of Harvey kills bookended Reinkensmeyer's ace and another Messenger kill, as Air Force scored four-straight points to take an 11-7 lead. The Falcons kept that margin following a Markwardt kill (13-9), but the Lions pulled within one at 15-14. A Scires kill and Markwardt ace pushed the Falcons' advantage to three (17-14), but TAMUC again came back to tie the set at 22 and take the lead on the next point. Harvey tied the set at 23, while another strike by the junior gave Air Force at 25-24 lead. Markwardt registered her fourth ace of the match at 27-25 and the Falcons forced the Lions into a hitting error to complete the sweep with a 28-26 victory.
Air Force returns to Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Aug 27) for its final two matches of the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic. The Falcons will face CSUN at 12:30 p.m., before hosting Drake in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m. (MT).
Team Stats
TAMC
USAFA
Kills
30
41
Errors
24
18
Attempts
98
94
Hitting %
.061
.245
Points
42
57
Assists
27
39
Aces
5
8
Blocks
7
8
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
4
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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