Friday, August 25
USAFA
6:30 pm MT
Air Force Academy
1-0,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
0
Rhode Island
0-1,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
F
Rhode Island
15
16
23
0
Air Force
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Justin Pacheco
Falcons Open Season with Rhode Island Sweep
8/25/2023 10:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team kicked off the 2023 campaign this evening (Aug 25) with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-23 sweep of Rhode Island at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic. The Falcons outhit the visiting Rams by 159 points (.213-.054), while holding the statistical advantage in kills (36-27), assists (34-26), service aces (6-2) and blocks (7-6).
Junior Ella Tschuor paced the field with nine kills in the three-set match, while senior Aaryn Scires added seven and classmate Joi Harvey produced a match-best .357 average with six kills on 14 swings and just one error. Junior Mac Russ, who also recorded six kills on the night, led the team defensively with four blocks (one solo, three assisted). Harvey and Scires also assisted on a trio of stops, while sophomore Ashley Bible added multiple blocks (two assisted). Sophomore Jordan Suan tallied a match-best 12 digs, while senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer rounded out the scoring leaders with 16 assists and two service aces.
Tschuor officially got the season underway, as she put down back-to-back kills to give the Falcons a quick 2-0 lead. Air Force extended its lead to 4-1 and doubled-up the Rams at 8-4 off a strike from Harvey. Junior Mekayla Dedo registered her first career kill to put the Falcons up 10-5, while Harvey recorded an ace on the ensuing serve to push the team's lead to six (11-5). Reinkensmeyer tallied the first of her two aces at the 14-6 mark, while Tschuor (kill) and junior Murphy Riggs (ace) bumped the advantage to nine (16-7). Another strike by Tschuor put the Falcons at the 20-point plateau (20-12), while kills from Russ, Tschuor (two) and Scires secured the Falcons' 10-point win (25-15).
Scires struck first to start the second set and teamed up with Harvey for a block that gave Air Force a 3-1 lead. Rhode Island tied the set at four, while a pair of kills from Bible helped Air Force regain the advantage and take a 7-4 lead. Dedo and sophomore Greta Hans put down kills to keep the Falcons up three (10-7), while three-straight scores from Bible (kill), Scires (kill) and Suan (ace) sent the Rams into a timeout at the 15-9 mark. Rhode Island pulled within three (15-12) out of the break, but Harvey stopped their run with a kill (16-12) and teamed up with Bible for a block at 17-13. Tschuor again put down a kill for the Falcons' 20th point (20-14) and added another strike two plays later (21-15), while a pair of scores from Russ (kill, block with Scires) gave Air Force the 25-16 victory.
Russ and Scires teamed up for a block to open the third set, but Rhode Island recorded the next three points to take a 3-1 advantage. Russ put down a set-tying kill at three-all and gave Air Force the lead on the very next play. The teams traded the next several points, with ties at six- and seven-all, before the Falcons pushed out to an 11-7 lead. The Rams responded with seven-straight points to go ahead 14-11, before Tschuor stopped the run with a kill. Scires put down a kill that tied the set at 15, while a solo block from Russ returned the advantage to Air Force at the 16-15 mark. Scires added another strike, before Harvey added a pair of scores (block with Bible, kill) that gave the Falcons the 21-18 advantage. Air Force reached match-point at 24-21 and held off a late run by the Rams for the 25-23 win.
With tonight's win, Air Force won its fourth-straight home opener and improved to 26-22 all-time in its first contest of a new season.
The Falcons return to Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Aug 25) when they wrap up action at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic with matches against Bryant (12:30 p.m.) and UT Arlington (7:30 p.m.).
Junior Ella Tschuor paced the field with nine kills in the three-set match, while senior Aaryn Scires added seven and classmate Joi Harvey produced a match-best .357 average with six kills on 14 swings and just one error. Junior Mac Russ, who also recorded six kills on the night, led the team defensively with four blocks (one solo, three assisted). Harvey and Scires also assisted on a trio of stops, while sophomore Ashley Bible added multiple blocks (two assisted). Sophomore Jordan Suan tallied a match-best 12 digs, while senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer rounded out the scoring leaders with 16 assists and two service aces.
Tschuor officially got the season underway, as she put down back-to-back kills to give the Falcons a quick 2-0 lead. Air Force extended its lead to 4-1 and doubled-up the Rams at 8-4 off a strike from Harvey. Junior Mekayla Dedo registered her first career kill to put the Falcons up 10-5, while Harvey recorded an ace on the ensuing serve to push the team's lead to six (11-5). Reinkensmeyer tallied the first of her two aces at the 14-6 mark, while Tschuor (kill) and junior Murphy Riggs (ace) bumped the advantage to nine (16-7). Another strike by Tschuor put the Falcons at the 20-point plateau (20-12), while kills from Russ, Tschuor (two) and Scires secured the Falcons' 10-point win (25-15).
Scires struck first to start the second set and teamed up with Harvey for a block that gave Air Force a 3-1 lead. Rhode Island tied the set at four, while a pair of kills from Bible helped Air Force regain the advantage and take a 7-4 lead. Dedo and sophomore Greta Hans put down kills to keep the Falcons up three (10-7), while three-straight scores from Bible (kill), Scires (kill) and Suan (ace) sent the Rams into a timeout at the 15-9 mark. Rhode Island pulled within three (15-12) out of the break, but Harvey stopped their run with a kill (16-12) and teamed up with Bible for a block at 17-13. Tschuor again put down a kill for the Falcons' 20th point (20-14) and added another strike two plays later (21-15), while a pair of scores from Russ (kill, block with Scires) gave Air Force the 25-16 victory.
Russ and Scires teamed up for a block to open the third set, but Rhode Island recorded the next three points to take a 3-1 advantage. Russ put down a set-tying kill at three-all and gave Air Force the lead on the very next play. The teams traded the next several points, with ties at six- and seven-all, before the Falcons pushed out to an 11-7 lead. The Rams responded with seven-straight points to go ahead 14-11, before Tschuor stopped the run with a kill. Scires put down a kill that tied the set at 15, while a solo block from Russ returned the advantage to Air Force at the 16-15 mark. Scires added another strike, before Harvey added a pair of scores (block with Bible, kill) that gave the Falcons the 21-18 advantage. Air Force reached match-point at 24-21 and held off a late run by the Rams for the 25-23 win.
With tonight's win, Air Force won its fourth-straight home opener and improved to 26-22 all-time in its first contest of a new season.
The Falcons return to Cadet East Gym tomorrow (Aug 25) when they wrap up action at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic with matches against Bryant (12:30 p.m.) and UT Arlington (7:30 p.m.).
Team Stats
URI
USAFA
Kills
27
36
Errors
22
16
Attempts
92
94
Hitting %
.054
.213
Points
35.0
49.0
Assists
26
34
Aces
2
6
Blocks
6
7
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ 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
