Thursday, September 21
Fresno, CA
7:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
Fresno State
Photo by: UW Milwaukee Photography
Falcons Open Conference Play on the Road
9/19/2023 3:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Air Force volleyball team, coming off one of its best non-conference seasons in the program's Division I history, opens Mountain West play this week with a pair of road matches. The Falcons kick off their 18-match MW season at Fresno State on Sept. 21, before wrapping up a four-week road trip at Nevada on Sept. 23.
MATCH INFORMATION
The Fresno State match at the SaveMart Center will take place at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Thursday, Sept. 21, while the Nevada contest will be held at 12:00 p.m. (PT) inside Virginia Street Gym on Saturday, Sept. 23. Live stats will be available for both matches via the home team, while both matches will be streamed on the MW Network and Mountain West App (available on Android, IOS, Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV).
MATCH 12 | SEPT 21 | 6:00 PM (PT)
Air Force at Fresno State
SaveMart Center | Fresno, CA
Live Stats | Mountain West Network
MATCH 13 | SEPT 23 | 12:00 PM (PT)
Air Force at Nevada
Virginia Street Gym | Reno, NV
Live Stats | Mountain West Network
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Fresno State, coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Central Cal Challenge, which included a 3-2 win over common foe CSU Bakersfield, is 6-5 on the year. In non-conference matches, the Bulldogs' Brooke Cowie and Addison Haluska are ranked third in the Mountain West in assists (9.38) and service aces (0.42), respectively, while Haluska was also ranked among the league's top-five in kills with a 3.67 per-set average.
SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK
Nevada, which will host New Mexico on Thursday night, enters the conference season with a 4-7 slate after splitting a home weekend with Montana State (3-1 win) and California (1-3 loss). The Wolfpack's Hikialani Kaohelaulii ranked second in the Mountain West during non-league play, with 4.83 digs per game, while Jordan Schwartz was listed third in blocks with a 1.24 per-set average.
BY THE NUMBERS
Fresno State holds a narrow 12-11 lead in the all-time series with the Falcons, although Air Force has the 11-8 advantage in Mountain West matches with the Bulldogs. The Falcons faced Fresno State just once last season, claiming a 3-1 win at the Academy in late-October. Nevada and Air Force are evenly split in their 22-match history, although the Falcons hold a slight lead (11-10) as Mountain West opponents. The teams split last season's two meetings, as Air Force fell in four at Reno and claimed a five-set win at the Academy.
BLOCK PARTY – NCAA STYLE
The Falcons finished the non-conference season ranked 13th in the NCAA with a 2.82 blocks-per-set average. The squad's 42 solo blocks are tied for the fifth-most in the nation, while their 175 are 18th. Individually, Mac Russ's 1.42 blocks-per-set average is ranked 16th in the NCAA, while her 14.0 total blocks against UT Arlington are tied for the third-best single-match outing of the season.
GAINING TENURE
In his fifth season as Air Force's head coach, Keith Barnett is one of the most tenured coaches in the Mountain West. With five of the league's 11 coaches in their first season, Barnett's five years at the helm is tied for the third-longest head coaching term in the league – and his nine total years with the Air Force program is the second-longest stint among any of the MW head coaches.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The Falcons' 8-2 start to the season was tied for the best 10-match start for the program since joining NCAA Division I in 1996, matching the starts of the 1999, 2003, and 2016 seasons, while their .727 overall non-conference winning percentage (8-3) is the second-highest at the DI level – trailing only the 1999 team's .800 mark that included double the amount of home matches than the 2023 team. In addition, Air Force's four neutral site victories were the program's most since 2009 and marked just the second undefeated neutral site slate at the DI level.
WHAT'S ON DECK
After being away from the Academy for the last four weeks, the Falcons return home next week for a pair of Mountain West contests. Air Force will host Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 28, before welcoming Utah State to Cadet East Gym on Saturday, Sept. 30.
MATCH INFORMATION
The Fresno State match at the SaveMart Center will take place at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Thursday, Sept. 21, while the Nevada contest will be held at 12:00 p.m. (PT) inside Virginia Street Gym on Saturday, Sept. 23. Live stats will be available for both matches via the home team, while both matches will be streamed on the MW Network and Mountain West App (available on Android, IOS, Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV).
MATCH 12 | SEPT 21 | 6:00 PM (PT)
Air Force at Fresno State
SaveMart Center | Fresno, CA
Live Stats | Mountain West Network
MATCH 13 | SEPT 23 | 12:00 PM (PT)
Air Force at Nevada
Virginia Street Gym | Reno, NV
Live Stats | Mountain West Network
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Fresno State, coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Central Cal Challenge, which included a 3-2 win over common foe CSU Bakersfield, is 6-5 on the year. In non-conference matches, the Bulldogs' Brooke Cowie and Addison Haluska are ranked third in the Mountain West in assists (9.38) and service aces (0.42), respectively, while Haluska was also ranked among the league's top-five in kills with a 3.67 per-set average.
SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK
Nevada, which will host New Mexico on Thursday night, enters the conference season with a 4-7 slate after splitting a home weekend with Montana State (3-1 win) and California (1-3 loss). The Wolfpack's Hikialani Kaohelaulii ranked second in the Mountain West during non-league play, with 4.83 digs per game, while Jordan Schwartz was listed third in blocks with a 1.24 per-set average.
BY THE NUMBERS
Fresno State holds a narrow 12-11 lead in the all-time series with the Falcons, although Air Force has the 11-8 advantage in Mountain West matches with the Bulldogs. The Falcons faced Fresno State just once last season, claiming a 3-1 win at the Academy in late-October. Nevada and Air Force are evenly split in their 22-match history, although the Falcons hold a slight lead (11-10) as Mountain West opponents. The teams split last season's two meetings, as Air Force fell in four at Reno and claimed a five-set win at the Academy.
BLOCK PARTY – NCAA STYLE
The Falcons finished the non-conference season ranked 13th in the NCAA with a 2.82 blocks-per-set average. The squad's 42 solo blocks are tied for the fifth-most in the nation, while their 175 are 18th. Individually, Mac Russ's 1.42 blocks-per-set average is ranked 16th in the NCAA, while her 14.0 total blocks against UT Arlington are tied for the third-best single-match outing of the season.
GAINING TENURE
In his fifth season as Air Force's head coach, Keith Barnett is one of the most tenured coaches in the Mountain West. With five of the league's 11 coaches in their first season, Barnett's five years at the helm is tied for the third-longest head coaching term in the league – and his nine total years with the Air Force program is the second-longest stint among any of the MW head coaches.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The Falcons' 8-2 start to the season was tied for the best 10-match start for the program since joining NCAA Division I in 1996, matching the starts of the 1999, 2003, and 2016 seasons, while their .727 overall non-conference winning percentage (8-3) is the second-highest at the DI level – trailing only the 1999 team's .800 mark that included double the amount of home matches than the 2023 team. In addition, Air Force's four neutral site victories were the program's most since 2009 and marked just the second undefeated neutral site slate at the DI level.
WHAT'S ON DECK
After being away from the Academy for the last four weeks, the Falcons return home next week for a pair of Mountain West contests. Air Force will host Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 28, before welcoming Utah State to Cadet East Gym on Saturday, Sept. 30.
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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
