Friday, August 25
USAFA
6:30 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Rhode Island
Volleyball Opens Season Hosting Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic
8/23/2023 12:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Air Force volleyball team kicks off the 2023 campaign this weekend (Aug. 25-26) hosting the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at the Academy. The Falcons will welcome Bryant, Rhode Island and UT Arlington to Cadet East Gym for the start of their 48th season of competition.
MATCH INFORMATION
The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic, which features Air Force, Bryant, Rhode Island, and UT Arlington, will kick off the 2023 season at the Academy's Cadet East Gym over the Aug. 25-26 weekend. Tickets can be purchased at AFTickets.com and the Academy's Clear Bag policy will be in effect. There will be live video and stats for all six matches, while George Egan and Brian Jerman will be on the call for the three Air Force matches. Direct links can be found on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com. The matches will also be streamed on the Mountain West App (available on Android, IOS, Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV).
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
08.25 – Bryant vs UT Arlington – 4:00 pm
08.25 – Air Force vs Rhode Island – 6:30 pm
08.26 – Rhode Island vs UT Arlington – 10:00 am
08.26 – Air Force vs Bryant – 12:30 pm
08.26 – Bryant vs Rhode Island – 5:00 pm
08.26 – Air Force vs UT Arlington – 7:30 pm
REMEMBERING AMY SVOBODA
This weekend's tournament is named after Amy Svoboda, a 1989 Academy graduate and four-year letterwinner on the Air Force volleyball team, who was killed during an A-10 training accident in 1997. Svoboda, who earned MVP honors during her senior season with the Falcons, was one of the first 14 female fighter pilots in the Air Force – and one of the first six to fly the A-10.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
This is the opening weekend of the 2023 season for all four teams – and the first trip to the Academy for every visiting squad. Rhode Island went 6-25 during the 2022 season, while Bryant went 19-12 and UT Arlington went 17-10.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Falcons are 3-3 lifetime against the lineup of teams coming to the Academy this weekend. Air Force is 1-0 against Rhode Island following a sweep of the Rams last fall in Kingston, while holding a 2-1 mark against Bryant – a team it hasn't faced since 2011. The Falcons are 0-2 all-time against UT Arlington, having last faced the Mavericks in 2018.
AIR FORCE IN OPENERS
The Falcons hold a 25-22 record in the first match of a new season – a tally that includes an 12-15 mark at the Division I level. In addition, the Falcons are 15-12 in home openers since joining Division I.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Joi Harvey enters the 2023 season ranked fifth in solo blocks (54), assisted blocks (238) and total blocks (292) on Air Force's Division I career standings and is less than 10 away from moving up a spot in each stat category, while Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who enters the year ranked 10th on Air Force's DI assist list (1458), is just 24 helpers away from moving into ninth.
HARVEY NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Joi Harvey was named to the preseason all-Mountain West team on Aug 16 – the first Falcon to earn a preseason nod by the conference office. Harvey, a two-time all-conference and all-region (honorable mention) selection, was ranked among the league leaders in blocks (1.23) and hitting (.380) last season, while adding a team-high 2.66 kills-per-set average and 146 blocks (31 solo, 115 assisted).
FALCONS PICKED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Air Force was tabbed seventh in the annual Mountain West Preseason Coaches' Poll – a ranking that matches the program's highest preseason pick in conference history.
LOOK WHO'S BACK
The Falcons return a lineup that includes two-time all-conference selection Joi Harvey, who averaged 1.23 blocks and 2.66 kills on .380 hitting as a junior. Air Force's returning lineup also includes Mac Russ (0.88 bps, 1.84 kps, .247 hitting) and Ella Tschuor (1.76 kps, 0.64 bps), as well as last year's starting setter Caroline Reinkensmeyer (6.88 aps) and a pair of Falcons – Murphy Riggs (2.42 dps) and Jordan Suan (2.43 dps) – that shared libero duties in 2022.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
The Falcons added five talented newcomers – Sophia Dasilva, Lauren Klingenberg, Anna Leahy, Rory Powers, Annamaria Ramos – to their lineup for the 2023 season.
THE LONG BLUE LINE
Mac Russ continued a family tradition of being an intercollegiate athlete at the Air Force Academy, as her mother Betsy (Class of 1994, volleyball), father Steve (Class of 1995, football), and aunt Rozi (Class of 2002, basketball) all played at the Academy.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Caroline Reinkensmeyer and Mac Russ will serve as the team captains for the 2023 season.
ON THE SIDELINES
Keith Barnett is on the sideline for his fifth season as head coach of the Air Force volleyball team. Barnett, who is in his ninth year overall with the program after spending four years as an assistant (2015-17) and associate head coach (2018), will be joined on the bench by eighth-year assistant Elysse Richardson, second-year assistant Brandon Oswald, sixth-year volunteer Kim Haas, and second-year director of operations Elsa Krieg.
RECORD BOOK NOW AVAILABLE
The 2023 Air Force Volleyball record book is available online at GoAirForceFalcons.com.
2022 REWIND
The Falcons posted one of their most successful seasons at the Division I level in 2022, winning two tournament titles following the best start to a season at the Division I level (6-0). Air Force tied for the second-most wins (15) and matched the most conference victories (seven) in the program's DI history – the latter a tally that has occurred twice during Keith Barnett's first four seasons as head coach.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force begins a month-long stretch of matches away from the Academy next weekend, when it heads to Spokane, Wash., to face Gonzaga, Idaho and UC San Diego at the Gonzaga Invitational on Sept. 1-2.
MATCH INFORMATION
The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic, which features Air Force, Bryant, Rhode Island, and UT Arlington, will kick off the 2023 season at the Academy's Cadet East Gym over the Aug. 25-26 weekend. Tickets can be purchased at AFTickets.com and the Academy's Clear Bag policy will be in effect. There will be live video and stats for all six matches, while George Egan and Brian Jerman will be on the call for the three Air Force matches. Direct links can be found on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com. The matches will also be streamed on the Mountain West App (available on Android, IOS, Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV).
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
08.25 – Bryant vs UT Arlington – 4:00 pm
08.25 – Air Force vs Rhode Island – 6:30 pm
08.26 – Rhode Island vs UT Arlington – 10:00 am
08.26 – Air Force vs Bryant – 12:30 pm
08.26 – Bryant vs Rhode Island – 5:00 pm
08.26 – Air Force vs UT Arlington – 7:30 pm
REMEMBERING AMY SVOBODA
This weekend's tournament is named after Amy Svoboda, a 1989 Academy graduate and four-year letterwinner on the Air Force volleyball team, who was killed during an A-10 training accident in 1997. Svoboda, who earned MVP honors during her senior season with the Falcons, was one of the first 14 female fighter pilots in the Air Force – and one of the first six to fly the A-10.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
This is the opening weekend of the 2023 season for all four teams – and the first trip to the Academy for every visiting squad. Rhode Island went 6-25 during the 2022 season, while Bryant went 19-12 and UT Arlington went 17-10.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Falcons are 3-3 lifetime against the lineup of teams coming to the Academy this weekend. Air Force is 1-0 against Rhode Island following a sweep of the Rams last fall in Kingston, while holding a 2-1 mark against Bryant – a team it hasn't faced since 2011. The Falcons are 0-2 all-time against UT Arlington, having last faced the Mavericks in 2018.
AIR FORCE IN OPENERS
The Falcons hold a 25-22 record in the first match of a new season – a tally that includes an 12-15 mark at the Division I level. In addition, the Falcons are 15-12 in home openers since joining Division I.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Joi Harvey enters the 2023 season ranked fifth in solo blocks (54), assisted blocks (238) and total blocks (292) on Air Force's Division I career standings and is less than 10 away from moving up a spot in each stat category, while Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who enters the year ranked 10th on Air Force's DI assist list (1458), is just 24 helpers away from moving into ninth.
HARVEY NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Joi Harvey was named to the preseason all-Mountain West team on Aug 16 – the first Falcon to earn a preseason nod by the conference office. Harvey, a two-time all-conference and all-region (honorable mention) selection, was ranked among the league leaders in blocks (1.23) and hitting (.380) last season, while adding a team-high 2.66 kills-per-set average and 146 blocks (31 solo, 115 assisted).
FALCONS PICKED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Air Force was tabbed seventh in the annual Mountain West Preseason Coaches' Poll – a ranking that matches the program's highest preseason pick in conference history.
LOOK WHO'S BACK
The Falcons return a lineup that includes two-time all-conference selection Joi Harvey, who averaged 1.23 blocks and 2.66 kills on .380 hitting as a junior. Air Force's returning lineup also includes Mac Russ (0.88 bps, 1.84 kps, .247 hitting) and Ella Tschuor (1.76 kps, 0.64 bps), as well as last year's starting setter Caroline Reinkensmeyer (6.88 aps) and a pair of Falcons – Murphy Riggs (2.42 dps) and Jordan Suan (2.43 dps) – that shared libero duties in 2022.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
The Falcons added five talented newcomers – Sophia Dasilva, Lauren Klingenberg, Anna Leahy, Rory Powers, Annamaria Ramos – to their lineup for the 2023 season.
THE LONG BLUE LINE
Mac Russ continued a family tradition of being an intercollegiate athlete at the Air Force Academy, as her mother Betsy (Class of 1994, volleyball), father Steve (Class of 1995, football), and aunt Rozi (Class of 2002, basketball) all played at the Academy.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Caroline Reinkensmeyer and Mac Russ will serve as the team captains for the 2023 season.
ON THE SIDELINES
Keith Barnett is on the sideline for his fifth season as head coach of the Air Force volleyball team. Barnett, who is in his ninth year overall with the program after spending four years as an assistant (2015-17) and associate head coach (2018), will be joined on the bench by eighth-year assistant Elysse Richardson, second-year assistant Brandon Oswald, sixth-year volunteer Kim Haas, and second-year director of operations Elsa Krieg.
RECORD BOOK NOW AVAILABLE
The 2023 Air Force Volleyball record book is available online at GoAirForceFalcons.com.
2022 REWIND
The Falcons posted one of their most successful seasons at the Division I level in 2022, winning two tournament titles following the best start to a season at the Division I level (6-0). Air Force tied for the second-most wins (15) and matched the most conference victories (seven) in the program's DI history – the latter a tally that has occurred twice during Keith Barnett's first four seasons as head coach.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force begins a month-long stretch of matches away from the Academy next weekend, when it heads to Spokane, Wash., to face Gonzaga, Idaho and UC San Diego at the Gonzaga Invitational on Sept. 1-2.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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