Falcons Sweep Nevada, Move to 2-0 in Conference Play

RENO, Nev. -- The Air Force volleyball team capped its undefeated opening weekend of Mountain West action with a dominant sweep of Nevada on Saturday, Sept. 23, in Reno. The Falcons (10-3) improved to 2-0 in conference play for just the third time at the Division I level after downing the Wolfpack in straight 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 sets.

With the win, which saw the Falcons outhit the home team by 257 points (season-best 376-119) and tally a 45-32 advantage in kills, Air Force picked up its program-best fourth true road win of the year – a feat last accomplished in 2003 (also 2019).

Backed by a match-high 13 kills on .632 hitting from senior Joi Harvey, seven different Falcons accounted for kills at Virginia Street Gym – including libero Jordan Suan, who tallied her first collegiate kill. Junior Mac Russ added nine scores during a .471 outing, while sophomore Ashley Bible tallied eight on .368 hitting to help the team to its overall attacking performance. Senior Caroline Reinkensmeyer assisted on 33 of the team's kills, while she and Suan tied for the team lead in aces with two each. In addition to her 13 kills, Harvey also paced all players in blocks with three solo stops and Suan posted a team-high 12 digs.

Harvey had a hand in the Falcons' first three points, tallying two kills and a solo block to give Air Force an early 3-1 lead. The Wolfpack responded with five of the next six points to take a 6-4 advantage, but a Harvey block and Bible kill evened the set at six. After tying the set at seven-all, Air Force rattled off eight of the next nine points to open the scoring with a 14-8 lead. Air Force continued to receive points from Harvey, Russ, junior Ella Tschuor, and senior Aaryn Scires as it pushed its lead out to 21-13. Despite a late run by Nevada, a kill from Reinkensmeyer helped Air Force take the opening set by a 25-19 margin.

The Falcons and Wolfpack traded the first six points of the second set, with Tschuor, Harvey and Scires all tallying kills during that stretch. Following a quick two-score run by Nevada, Russ and Bible put down kills to tie the set at five – and spark a 7-1 run that included another kill from Russ and back-to-back aces from Suan (10-6). Nevada came back to tie the set at 12 and took the lead at the 14-13 mark, but Air Force tied the set at 14 (Scires kill), 16 (error) and 17 (Reinkensmeyer/Russ block). An ace from Reinkensmeyer tied the set at 20, while a pair of strikes from Harvey bookended a kill from Suan during a set-closing 5-1 run that secured the Falcons' 25-22 victory.

Nevada took a quick 4-1 lead to start the third, but Air Force responded with five of the next six scores – backed by a pair of kills from Bible – to take a 6-5 lead. Russ tied the set at eight and Harvey helped the Falcons take a two-point lead (11-9), before another strike from Bible and a successful challenge from head coach Keith Barett sent Air Force into the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. Air Force pushed that lead to five two plays later and built on its advantage behind by a kill from Bible (19-13). Tschuor added a pair of kills and Reinkensmeyer served up another ace as Air Force completed the sweep with a 25-18 win.

After four-straight weeks on the road, the Falcons return to the Academy next week for a pair of conference 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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