Falcons Drop Tournament Opener to SFA

EL PASO, Texas – The Air Force volleyball team dropped a 21-25, 22-25, 15-25 decision to Stephen F Austin this afternoon (Sept 5) during the opening match of the Borderland Invitational In El Paso, Texas. The Falcons moved to 1-2 on the year, while the Lumberjacks remained undefeated with a 5-0 mark.

Senior Ella Tschuor paced the Falcons with an eight-kill, two-block outing. Backed by 21 assists from freshman Mia Loyd – and another 12 from junior Greta Hans, six Falcons tallied at least five kills in the contest. In addition to Tschuor's eight strikes, classmate Mac Russ posted seven, while junior Ashley Bible and senior Mekayla Dedo both recorded six, and sophomore Annamaria Ramos and freshman Grace Fiaseu added five kills apiece. Dedo also accounted for two of the team's three service aces, while junior Jordan Suan posted a match-high 12 digs to round out the stat leaders.

Tschuor opened the scoring with a kill, while strikes from Fiaseu and Russ helped to tie the set at four. A kill from Ramos tied the set at six, but the Jacks retook the lead and stretched their advantage to three at the 12-9 mark. Air Force responded to tie the set at 14, following a pair of kills from Tschuor and Bible. The pair each recorded another score, but Stephen F Austin took the opening set by a 25-21 margin.

The Jacks struck first in the second frame, jumping out to a quick 3-1 lead and doubling up the Falcons by an 8-4 margin. Tschuor put down a kill and teamed up with Fiaseu for a block (8-12), while a kill from the freshman pulled the Falcons within two (11-13). Air Force evened the set at 16 (SFA error), 18 (Loyd ace) and 19 (Dedo kill), but – despite kills from Tschuor, Russ and Ramos, the comeback fell just short, as the Jacks finished the set with a 25-22 win.

Highlighted by back-to-back aces from Dedo, the Falcons took a quick 3-0 start to the third set. Air Force maintained a three-point lead (6-3), following kills from Fiaseu and Russ, while a strike from Dedo pushed the Falcons' advantage to four at the 8-4 mark. Following a Russ kill at 9-5, SPA responded by scoring 10 of the next 11 points to take a 14-10 lead. Dedo and Tschuor added to their stat line, but the Jacks pushed their lead to seven (19-12) with another four-point run – and eventually used a five-point stretch to close out the match for the 25-15 win.

Air Force continues competition at the Borderland Invitational tomorrow (Sept. 6), when it faces tournament host UTEP at 6:00 p.m. (MT), inside Memorial Gym.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.

Next Event

Team Stats

Ella Tschuor

Mac Russ

Mekayla Dedo

Ashley Bible

Players Mentioned

Ashley Bible

Mekayla Dedo

Grace Fiaseu

Greta Hans

Mia Loyd

Annamaria Ramos

Mac Russ

Jordan Suan

Ella Tschuor

Footer