Friday, September 1
Spokane, WA
11:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
3-1,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
2
UC San Diego
2-2,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
UC San Diego
19
22
25
25
12
2
Air Force
25
25
19
19
15
3
Photo by: Justin Pacheco
Air Force Hangs on for Five-Set Victory over UCSD
9/1/2023 3:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SPOKANE, Wash. -- e The Air Force volleyball team held off a late comeback from UC San Diego to open the Gonzaga Invitational with a five-set victory this morning (Sept. 1) in Spokane. Backed by a .579 attacking performance from junior Mac Russ, the Falcons combined to hit over .250 during the 25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 19-25, 15-12 victory at the Charlotte Y Martin Centre.
Russ led the Falcons with 12 kills and five blocks during her .579 performance (12-1-19), while senior Joi Harvey added nine kills and was one of three Falcons to register four blocks (two solo/two assisted for Harvey, two solo/two assisted for classmate Aaryn Scires, one solo/three assisted for junior Mekayla Dedo). Senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who led the team with 26 assists, was one of three Falcons to serve up a pair of aces, joining junior Ella Tschuor and freshman Sophia Dasilva, while sophomore Jordan Suan rounded out the Falcons' list of stat leaders with a match-high 15 digs.
A kill and ace from Reinkensmeyer helped Air Force take a quick 4-1 lead to start the match, while Harvey extended the Falcons' advantage to four (6-2, kill) and five (8-3, block with Dedo). Sophomore Ashley Bible accounted for the Falcons' second ace of the set for a six-point Air Force lead, while senior Amber Soto put down a kill to help maintain that margin at the 13-7 mark. UCSD cut the advantage to three (13-10) and eventually two (17-15), before Air Force responded with a 7-2 run to reach set point (24-17). Harvey notched a solo block during the run, while Tschuor put down a pair of kills and teamed up with Dedo for a block. The Tritons added two more scores, but Dedo put down a kill to secure the 25-19 victory.
Tschuor scored the Falcons' first two points of the second set, recording a kill and service ace, while a pair of scores from Dedo pushed Air Force's advantage to two (5-3, solo block; 7-5 kill). Back-to-back strikes from Dedo and Russ kept the Falcons' lead at two (9-7), but the Tritons used a 6-1 run that sent Air Force into a timeout trailing 13-10. Kills from Russ (two) and Scires evened the set at 13, while another strike from Russ, as well as one from Harvey, returned the lead to Air Force at the 16-15 mark. Bible and Harvey pushed the advantage to three (19-16), while Dedo, Harvey and Tschuor added kills to the Falcons' tally (22-18). Dasilva recorded her second ace in as many sets (23-28) and, although UCSD pulled within one at the 23-22 mark, another serving score from Reinkensmeyer secured the 25-22 win for the Falcons.
Russ struck first (kill, block with Scires) in the third, but UC San Diego rattled off the next five points to take a 5-2 lead. The Scires/Russ duo teamed up for another stop, but the Tritons continued to score and took a 10-6 advantage into an Air Force timeout. Harvey added a pair of kills, but UC San Diego quickly doubled up the Falcons by an 18-9 margin. Russ stopped the Tritons' run with a kill and block (assisted by sophomore Savanah Johnson), while freshman Annamaria Ramos earned her first collegiate kill at the 12-20 mark. With Ramos at the serving line, the Falcons held UCSD to six set-points, recording kills from Dedo, Tschuor and Soto during that stretch, but the Tritons notched the final point for the 25-19 win.
UC San Diego jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead to start the fourth set, before Soto put down a kill to give Air Force its first offensive strike of the set. Three kills from Scires, including a pair of back-to-back strikes during a 6-1 run by the Falcons, brought Air Force within one at the 12-13 mark. The Tritons pushed back ahead with seven of the next 10 points (20-15), before Scires and Russ teamed up for a block. Ramos added another kill, but UCSD forced a fifth set with another 25-19 decision.
Air Force took an early 4-2 lead in the deciding set backed by a pair of blocks from Russ, a service ace from Suan and a Tschuor/Harvey block. The Falcons' blockers added offensive scores with an ace (Tschuor) and kill (Harvey) to give Air Force an 8-4 lead at the midway point, while Bible (kill) and senior Savannah Neal (ace) added scores to sit the Falcons at 10-6. UC San Diego pulled within two on four occasions, including 14-12, but Reinkensmeyer put down the final kill to give Air Force the 15-12 victory.
The Falcons return to the Charlotte Y Martin Centre tonight to face host Gonzaga at 6:00 p.m. (PT).
Russ led the Falcons with 12 kills and five blocks during her .579 performance (12-1-19), while senior Joi Harvey added nine kills and was one of three Falcons to register four blocks (two solo/two assisted for Harvey, two solo/two assisted for classmate Aaryn Scires, one solo/three assisted for junior Mekayla Dedo). Senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer, who led the team with 26 assists, was one of three Falcons to serve up a pair of aces, joining junior Ella Tschuor and freshman Sophia Dasilva, while sophomore Jordan Suan rounded out the Falcons' list of stat leaders with a match-high 15 digs.
A kill and ace from Reinkensmeyer helped Air Force take a quick 4-1 lead to start the match, while Harvey extended the Falcons' advantage to four (6-2, kill) and five (8-3, block with Dedo). Sophomore Ashley Bible accounted for the Falcons' second ace of the set for a six-point Air Force lead, while senior Amber Soto put down a kill to help maintain that margin at the 13-7 mark. UCSD cut the advantage to three (13-10) and eventually two (17-15), before Air Force responded with a 7-2 run to reach set point (24-17). Harvey notched a solo block during the run, while Tschuor put down a pair of kills and teamed up with Dedo for a block. The Tritons added two more scores, but Dedo put down a kill to secure the 25-19 victory.
Tschuor scored the Falcons' first two points of the second set, recording a kill and service ace, while a pair of scores from Dedo pushed Air Force's advantage to two (5-3, solo block; 7-5 kill). Back-to-back strikes from Dedo and Russ kept the Falcons' lead at two (9-7), but the Tritons used a 6-1 run that sent Air Force into a timeout trailing 13-10. Kills from Russ (two) and Scires evened the set at 13, while another strike from Russ, as well as one from Harvey, returned the lead to Air Force at the 16-15 mark. Bible and Harvey pushed the advantage to three (19-16), while Dedo, Harvey and Tschuor added kills to the Falcons' tally (22-18). Dasilva recorded her second ace in as many sets (23-28) and, although UCSD pulled within one at the 23-22 mark, another serving score from Reinkensmeyer secured the 25-22 win for the Falcons.
Russ struck first (kill, block with Scires) in the third, but UC San Diego rattled off the next five points to take a 5-2 lead. The Scires/Russ duo teamed up for another stop, but the Tritons continued to score and took a 10-6 advantage into an Air Force timeout. Harvey added a pair of kills, but UC San Diego quickly doubled up the Falcons by an 18-9 margin. Russ stopped the Tritons' run with a kill and block (assisted by sophomore Savanah Johnson), while freshman Annamaria Ramos earned her first collegiate kill at the 12-20 mark. With Ramos at the serving line, the Falcons held UCSD to six set-points, recording kills from Dedo, Tschuor and Soto during that stretch, but the Tritons notched the final point for the 25-19 win.
UC San Diego jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead to start the fourth set, before Soto put down a kill to give Air Force its first offensive strike of the set. Three kills from Scires, including a pair of back-to-back strikes during a 6-1 run by the Falcons, brought Air Force within one at the 12-13 mark. The Tritons pushed back ahead with seven of the next 10 points (20-15), before Scires and Russ teamed up for a block. Ramos added another kill, but UCSD forced a fifth set with another 25-19 decision.
Air Force took an early 4-2 lead in the deciding set backed by a pair of blocks from Russ, a service ace from Suan and a Tschuor/Harvey block. The Falcons' blockers added offensive scores with an ace (Tschuor) and kill (Harvey) to give Air Force an 8-4 lead at the midway point, while Bible (kill) and senior Savannah Neal (ace) added scores to sit the Falcons at 10-6. UC San Diego pulled within two on four occasions, including 14-12, but Reinkensmeyer put down the final kill to give Air Force the 15-12 victory.
The Falcons return to the Charlotte Y Martin Centre tonight to face host Gonzaga at 6:00 p.m. (PT).
Team Stats
UCSD
USAFA
Kills
58
56
Errors
29
22
Attempts
139
135
Hitting %
.209
.252
Points
78.0
77.0
Assists
55
52
Aces
10
9
Blocks
10
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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