Thursday, September 21
Fresno, CA
7:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
9-3,1-0Mountain West
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Fresno State
6-6,0-1Mountain West
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Air Force
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Fresno St.
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Photo by: Elefterios Harteros
Air Force Opens Mountain West Play with a Win
9/21/2023 11:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. -- Air Force volleyball team kicked off the conference portion of the 2023 season with a come-from-behind 3-1 victory at Fresno State this evening (Sept. 21) at the Save Mart Center. The Falcons' 14-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-22 win over the host Bulldogs marked the second time under head coach Keith Barnett – and just the fifth time ever – that Air Force has started Mountain West play 1-0.
Junior Ella Tschuor had a career night for Air Force in Fresno, recording a personal-best 16 kills – including three-straight during a crucial stretch in the second set. The junior was one of three Falcons to register double-digit kill totals on Thursday, as she and the senior duo of Aaryn Scires (14) and Joi Harvey (12) combined for 42 of the team's 62 kills. Senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer earned a stat in every category (four kills, season-high 46 assists, two aces, 11 digs, one solo block), while freshman Sophia Dasilva tied the senior setter with a pair of aces, Tschuor and Harvey also accounted for solo stops, and sophomore Jordan Suan tallied a match-high 15 digs.
Despite kills from Scires, Harvey, and sophomore Ashley Bible, the Falcons found themselves in an early 4-10 deficit to start the match. Tschuor put down a kill to halt a six-score run by the Bulldogs, while junior Mac Russ (kill) and Reinkensmeyer (ace) added scores during a 3-1 spurt by the Falcons. Another pair of kills from Scires put the Falcons in double figures and Harvey added a solo block, but Fresno State took the opening set by a 25-14 score.
Scires recorded the first point of the second set, while a kill from Harvey and an ace from Tschuor helped the Falcons take a 4-2 lead. The Falcons extended their margin to 9-5 following kills from Russ and freshman Annamaria Ramos, but the Bulldogs evened the score four plays later. Air Force retook the lead on the next play off an error by Fresno State, while Reinkensmeyer (block) and Tschuor (kill) tallied scores as the teams traded points going into the media timeout (15-14). The Bulldogs scored the first five points coming out of the break to take a 19-15 advantage, but four kills from Tschuor during a 6-1 Air Force run returned the lead to the Falcons (21-20). The teams traded points, with kills from Harvey, Scires, Russ and Bible holding off four set-points for the Bulldogs. After Bible's kill tied the set at 27, the Falcons forced Fresno State into an error and an ace from Bible gave Air Force the 29-27 win and tied the match at one.
Air Force jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead to start the third, backed by scores from Scires (kill), Reinkensmeyer (kill) and Harvey (ace). Fresno State responded with a 5-1 run to pull within one (6-5) and used a second 5-1 stretch to take a 10-8 lead. A kill from Bible tied the set at 11, while two unforced errors by the home team kept the score tied at 13. Additional kills from Bible and Tschuor negated a two-point lead by the Bulldogs and evened the set at 15, before the teams traded two-point swings at 15-17, 17-17, 17-19, and 19-19. The back-to-back kills from Harvey, which led to the tie at 19-all, sparked a set-ending 8-1 run by the Falcons, who saw two more scores from Harvey, a pair of kills from Scires and a strike from Tschuor secure the 25-20 win for the Falcons.
The Falcons and Bulldogs traded the first eight points of the fourth set, before back-to-back points from Bible (kill, ace) gave the Falcons a 5-4 lead. Fresno State scored the next three and eventually took a 14-10 lead, despite strikes from Harvey (two) and Scires. The Falcons came out of a timeout scoring eight of the next 10 points to take an 18-16 advantage, as Tschuor (kill, solo block) and Reinkensmeyer (kill, ace) registered multiple scores during the run, and Russ, Harvey and Scires also put down kills. Fresno State responded with a 6-2 run to regain the lead (22-20), but Air Force scored the final five points, which included kills from Bible and Scires, to complete the comeback with a 25-22 victory.
With the win, Air Force evened the all-time series with Fresno State at 12 wins apiece and started conference play 1-0 for just the fifth time since joining Division I.
The Falcons wrap up the opening weekend of conference action this Saturday (Sept. 23), when they head to Reno to take on Nevada at noon (PT) inside the Virginia Street Gym.
Junior Ella Tschuor had a career night for Air Force in Fresno, recording a personal-best 16 kills – including three-straight during a crucial stretch in the second set. The junior was one of three Falcons to register double-digit kill totals on Thursday, as she and the senior duo of Aaryn Scires (14) and Joi Harvey (12) combined for 42 of the team's 62 kills. Senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer earned a stat in every category (four kills, season-high 46 assists, two aces, 11 digs, one solo block), while freshman Sophia Dasilva tied the senior setter with a pair of aces, Tschuor and Harvey also accounted for solo stops, and sophomore Jordan Suan tallied a match-high 15 digs.
Despite kills from Scires, Harvey, and sophomore Ashley Bible, the Falcons found themselves in an early 4-10 deficit to start the match. Tschuor put down a kill to halt a six-score run by the Bulldogs, while junior Mac Russ (kill) and Reinkensmeyer (ace) added scores during a 3-1 spurt by the Falcons. Another pair of kills from Scires put the Falcons in double figures and Harvey added a solo block, but Fresno State took the opening set by a 25-14 score.
Scires recorded the first point of the second set, while a kill from Harvey and an ace from Tschuor helped the Falcons take a 4-2 lead. The Falcons extended their margin to 9-5 following kills from Russ and freshman Annamaria Ramos, but the Bulldogs evened the score four plays later. Air Force retook the lead on the next play off an error by Fresno State, while Reinkensmeyer (block) and Tschuor (kill) tallied scores as the teams traded points going into the media timeout (15-14). The Bulldogs scored the first five points coming out of the break to take a 19-15 advantage, but four kills from Tschuor during a 6-1 Air Force run returned the lead to the Falcons (21-20). The teams traded points, with kills from Harvey, Scires, Russ and Bible holding off four set-points for the Bulldogs. After Bible's kill tied the set at 27, the Falcons forced Fresno State into an error and an ace from Bible gave Air Force the 29-27 win and tied the match at one.
Air Force jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead to start the third, backed by scores from Scires (kill), Reinkensmeyer (kill) and Harvey (ace). Fresno State responded with a 5-1 run to pull within one (6-5) and used a second 5-1 stretch to take a 10-8 lead. A kill from Bible tied the set at 11, while two unforced errors by the home team kept the score tied at 13. Additional kills from Bible and Tschuor negated a two-point lead by the Bulldogs and evened the set at 15, before the teams traded two-point swings at 15-17, 17-17, 17-19, and 19-19. The back-to-back kills from Harvey, which led to the tie at 19-all, sparked a set-ending 8-1 run by the Falcons, who saw two more scores from Harvey, a pair of kills from Scires and a strike from Tschuor secure the 25-20 win for the Falcons.
The Falcons and Bulldogs traded the first eight points of the fourth set, before back-to-back points from Bible (kill, ace) gave the Falcons a 5-4 lead. Fresno State scored the next three and eventually took a 14-10 lead, despite strikes from Harvey (two) and Scires. The Falcons came out of a timeout scoring eight of the next 10 points to take an 18-16 advantage, as Tschuor (kill, solo block) and Reinkensmeyer (kill, ace) registered multiple scores during the run, and Russ, Harvey and Scires also put down kills. Fresno State responded with a 6-2 run to regain the lead (22-20), but Air Force scored the final five points, which included kills from Bible and Scires, to complete the comeback with a 25-22 victory.
With the win, Air Force evened the all-time series with Fresno State at 12 wins apiece and started conference play 1-0 for just the fifth time since joining Division I.
The Falcons wrap up the opening weekend of conference action this Saturday (Sept. 23), when they head to Reno to take on Nevada at noon (PT) inside the Virginia Street Gym.
Team Stats
USAFA
Fresno
Kills
62
53
Errors
22
17
Attempts
149
141
Hitting %
.268
.255
Points
71.0
71.0
Assists
54
49
Aces
6
9
Blocks
3
9
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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