Falcons Drop 3-1 Decision to Denver in Mid-Week Clash

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to Denver on Tuesday, Sept. 10, during the front end of a home-and-home series with its in-state counterparts. The Falcons won the opening set of their brief stopover at Cadet East Gym by a 25-21 margin, before dropping the final three sets by 21-25, 18-25, 18-25 scores.

Senior Mekayla Dedo recorded a season-high 14 kills on .286 hitting (14-6-28), while junior Ashley Bible added 11 to lead the Falcons to their highest kill total of the season (53). Freshman Mia Loyd assisted on 20 of the team's scores and accounted for one of the team's four aces, while junior Greta Hans registered 10 assists and an ace. Defensively, junior Jordan Suan posted a team-high 14 digs and freshman Grace Fiaseu tallied four assisted blocks.

Bible put the Falcons on the board with an early kill to start the match, while a pair of scores from senior Ella Tschuor (kill, block with Fiaseu) tied the set at three and sparked a 4-0 run by the Falcons (5-3). Sophomore Annamaria Ramos posted a kill and block (with Fiaseu) during a 4-0 run that gave Air Force a 9-6 advantage. A kill from Hans maintained the Falcons' three-point lead (10-7), as did a strike from freshman Lainie Stapleton at the 12-9 mark. The Pioneers pulled within one (13-12), before multiple points from Bible (kill, ace) and Stapleton (two kills) highlighted a 5-1 run by the Falcons that pushed their advantage to 18-13. Denver pulled within two, but Ramos stopped the run with the first of back-to-back kills. Bible added two strikes and teamed up with Stapleton for a block as Air Force won the opening set 25-21.

The Pioneers jumped out to a quick 3-1 run in the second, before three kills from Dedo tied the set at four and a service ace from Hans gave the Falcons a 5-4 lead. Denver retook the lead with a 6-2 run, but a Bible kill brought Air Force within one at the 10-11 mark. A score from Fiaseu gave the Falcons a 14-13 lead and the teams traded the next several points, with Dedo (15), Hans (17), Fiaseu (18) and Ramos (19) accounting for set-tying kills. Fiaseu served up an ace to give Air Force a 20-19 lead, but the Pioneers closed the set on a 6-1 run to even the match with a 25-21 win.

Denver took an early 4-2 lead to start the third, before Dedo (kill), Ramos (kill) and the blocking partnership of Fiaseu and Bible tied the set at five. Air Force took the lead on the ensuing point – and held the lead off a strike from Bible (7-6), but the Pioneers responded with five-straight points to take an 11-7 lead. Kills from Hans, Tschuor, Ramos, and Dedo (three) swung the advantage back to Air Force (15-14), but Denver scored 11 of the final 14 points to take the set by a 25-18 margin.

Dedo struck first in the fourth, while Air Force maintained its lead off a kill from Bible and three attacking errors by the Pioneers (5-4). Denver responded to go up 10-7 and stretched its advantage to six by the 14-8 mark. A block from Stapleton and Tschuor put the Falcons in double figures (10-14), but the Pioneers continued to lead. Ramos, Tschuor and Dedo added kills, but Denver completed the match with another 25-18 victory.

The Falcons return to action this Thursday (Sept 12), when they travel to Denver to open the Mile High Classic with a rematch against the Pioneers at Hamilton Gymnasium. First serve is slated for 6:00 p.m. (MT).

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