Falcons Suffer Setback to Northern Colorado at Mile High Classic

DENVER, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team closed out the Mile High Classic with a 3-1 loss to in-state rival Northern Colorado this afternoon (Sept. 13) in Denver. Following a rough 10-25 loss in the opening frame, the Falcons rebounded with a 25-18victory in the second, before falling 22-25, 24-26 in the final two sets, which included back-and-forth action at 13 ties.

The Falcons' youngest members led the team in several stat categories on Friday, as Laine Stapleton (0-4) and Grace Fiaseu (1-3) both registered four blocks and Mia Loyd tallied 14 assists and tied for the team lead in aces with two. Junior Jordan Suan, the the other two-ace server on the Falcons' roster, amassed 14 digs, while senior Ella Tschuor rounded out the team leaders with 11 kills.

Northern Colorado rolled out to a quick 8-1 lead to force the Falcons into an early timeout. The Bears added two more scores before Stapleton and sophomore Anna Leahy teamed up for a block. An ace from Suan helped the Falcons during a 3-0 run (4-10), while Fiaseu registered back-to-back kills to bring the Falcons within 6-13. Northern Colorado scored the next nine points (6-22) and – despite a kill from junior Ashley Bible, took the opening set by a 25-10 score.

Backed by two blocks (Leahy/Fiaseu assisted, Bible solo) and a service ace from Tschuor, the Falcons rebounded with a quick 5-2 lead to start the second. Air Force maintained a three-point lead (7-4), but the Bears used an 8-3 run – broken up by a pair of kills from Leahy – to take a 12-10 advantage. Tschuor stopped the run with a kill and the Falcons fenefitted from several UNC errors to regain a three-point lead (16-13). An ace from Loyd, as well as kills from Stapleton and sophomore Annamaria Ramos pushed the Falcons' margin to five (21-16). Norther Colorado scored the next two points, but kills from Leahy, Tschuor and Fiaseu helped Air Force even the match with a 25-18 win.

Ramos struck first in the third and Leahy added a kill, but Northern Colorado jumped out to an early 8-3 lead. Tschuor helped stopped the run with a pair of scores, while back-to-back kills from Bible and Ramos brought the Falcons within three (7-10). Another ace from Loyd kept Air Force within three (9-12), but UNC used a three-point swing to take a six-point lead at 15-9. Air Force stormed back with a 9-3 run that included three kills from Tschuor, a Leahy/Stapleton block, and a kill from Fiaseu that tied the set at 18, but despite kills from Bible, Leahy, and junior Greta Hans UNC claimed the 25-22 win.

Back-to-back scores from Leafy (kill) and Suan (ace) opened the fourth set, while Ramos teamed up with Fiaseu for a block to cap a 3-0 run that gave Air Force a 6-3 advantage. Northern Colorado responded with five-straight points, before Bible stopped their run with a kill and back-to-back scores from Ramos tied the set at nine. The Bears broke the tie with a 5-2 run (14-10), but the Falcons responded to tie the set at 15 (Bible kill) and take the lead (17-16) following a solo stop from Fiaseu. The freshman added a kill as the Falcons' pushed their advantage to 20-17, but the Bears came back to tie the set at 20. Ramos put down another score and back-to-back kills from Tschuor put Air Force at set-point (24-22), but Northern Colorado rattled off four-straight points for the 26-24 comeback win.

The Falcons return to action next week, when they close out the non-conference portion of the season in California. Air Force will face Saint Mary's in Moraga on Sept. 19, before facing San Francisco and Seattle at the USF Invitational in the Dons' gym on Sept. 20-21.

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