Saturday, November 1
Albuquerque, NM
1:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
12-12,4-8Mountain West
3
at
0
New Mexico
10-13,2-10Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Air Force
25
25
25
3
New Mexico
12
22
22
0
Photo by: Trevor Cokley
Strong Serving Helps Air Force in Road Sweep of New Mexico
11/1/2025 4:47:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Backed by a season-high 11 service aces, the Air Force volleyball team recorded a straight-set sweep of New Mexico on Saturday (Nov. 1) in Albuquerque. With six different Falcons serving up at least one ace in the match, Air Force downed the Lobos 25-12, 25-22, 25-22 and accounted for the Falcons' first victory at the Johnson Center since 2003 – and the program's first in Albuquerque since 2019.
Sophomore Grace Fiaseu headlined the Falcons' success from the serving line, as she registered a season-high four aces. Classmates Mia Loyd and Alysa Walker both posted a pair, while freshman Sam Pope and the senior duo of Ashley Bible and Jordan Suan each accounted for one.
Bible (13) and Walker (12) combined for 25 of the team's 41 kills during the three-set match, while senior Alex Hatchett added eight strikes on .538 hitting (8-1-13). Pope notched a team-high 18 assists, while Loyd added 14 and posted a team-high 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the year (14th overall). Freshman Sonia Okpara rounded out the Falcons' list of stat leaders with four blocks (two solo, two assisted).
New Mexico put down the first point of the day and took a 7-5 advantage through the first 12 points. An attacking error by the Lobos (7-6) sent Pope to the line and sparked a 10-point run by the Falcons, who raced out to a 15-7 lead. Pope tallied her ace during that run, while Hatchett accounted for three scores (two kills, assisted block), Walker put down two kills, and Okpara posted a pair of blocks (solo, assisted). Air Force maintained its advantage over the Lobos, doubling up the home team at 18-9 (kill from Bible) and 20-10 (ace from Loyd). New Mexico put together back-to-back scores (12-20), but multiple points from both Bible (kill, ace) and Walker (two kills) helped Air Force close on a 5-0 run and claim the easy 25-12 win – and accounted for the lowest opponent total since the opening weekend (11, vs Jacksonville State; vs Seattle).
A kill from Okpara opened the second set, while kills from Hatchett and sophomore Brooksie Isham, as well as Loyd's second ace, helped Air Force to a 5-2 lead. Fiaseu put the Falcons in double figures (10-4) with an ace that was book-ended by a pair of kills from Walker. Air Force maintained a five-point lead at the 14-9 mark, but New Mexico rolled off the next five points to tie the set at 14. The Lobos took a 17-16 lead for its first lead of the set, but a solo stop from Fiaseu quickly stopped the run to tie the set at 17-all. Walker and Hatchett teamed up for a block on the next point, while another ace from Fiaseu halted the back-and-forth play and gave Air Force a two-point lead at the 19-17 mark. After the Lobos pulled within one on the next point, Hatchett put down three kills to lead Air Force to a 25-22 win.
New Mexico took a quick 4-2 lead to start the third set, but three points from Bible (two kills, assisted block with Fiaseu) gave Air Force a 5-4 advantage. The teams traded the next several points, with Isham and Walker accounting for set-tying scores (7-7). Another kill from Walker evened the score at 10 and kicked off a 5-1 run that included a kill and two blocks from Okpara (solo, assisted with Hatchett). Air Force continued to lead, but New Mexico closed the gap to one at the 17-16 mark. A kill and two aces from Fiaseu headlined a 4-0 run by the Falcons (23-16), while an attacking error by the Lobos put Air Force at match-point (24-18). New Mexico held Air Force scoreless during a 4-0 run, but Hatchett put down the final kill from the 25-22 win – marking the Falcons' first sweep of the Lobos since 2019.
After spending two weeks on the road, Air Force (12-12, 4-8) return to the Academy next week a two-week homestand. The Falcons kick off its final homestand of the year against San Jose State on Nov. 6.
Sophomore Grace Fiaseu headlined the Falcons' success from the serving line, as she registered a season-high four aces. Classmates Mia Loyd and Alysa Walker both posted a pair, while freshman Sam Pope and the senior duo of Ashley Bible and Jordan Suan each accounted for one.
Bible (13) and Walker (12) combined for 25 of the team's 41 kills during the three-set match, while senior Alex Hatchett added eight strikes on .538 hitting (8-1-13). Pope notched a team-high 18 assists, while Loyd added 14 and posted a team-high 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the year (14th overall). Freshman Sonia Okpara rounded out the Falcons' list of stat leaders with four blocks (two solo, two assisted).
New Mexico put down the first point of the day and took a 7-5 advantage through the first 12 points. An attacking error by the Lobos (7-6) sent Pope to the line and sparked a 10-point run by the Falcons, who raced out to a 15-7 lead. Pope tallied her ace during that run, while Hatchett accounted for three scores (two kills, assisted block), Walker put down two kills, and Okpara posted a pair of blocks (solo, assisted). Air Force maintained its advantage over the Lobos, doubling up the home team at 18-9 (kill from Bible) and 20-10 (ace from Loyd). New Mexico put together back-to-back scores (12-20), but multiple points from both Bible (kill, ace) and Walker (two kills) helped Air Force close on a 5-0 run and claim the easy 25-12 win – and accounted for the lowest opponent total since the opening weekend (11, vs Jacksonville State; vs Seattle).
A kill from Okpara opened the second set, while kills from Hatchett and sophomore Brooksie Isham, as well as Loyd's second ace, helped Air Force to a 5-2 lead. Fiaseu put the Falcons in double figures (10-4) with an ace that was book-ended by a pair of kills from Walker. Air Force maintained a five-point lead at the 14-9 mark, but New Mexico rolled off the next five points to tie the set at 14. The Lobos took a 17-16 lead for its first lead of the set, but a solo stop from Fiaseu quickly stopped the run to tie the set at 17-all. Walker and Hatchett teamed up for a block on the next point, while another ace from Fiaseu halted the back-and-forth play and gave Air Force a two-point lead at the 19-17 mark. After the Lobos pulled within one on the next point, Hatchett put down three kills to lead Air Force to a 25-22 win.
New Mexico took a quick 4-2 lead to start the third set, but three points from Bible (two kills, assisted block with Fiaseu) gave Air Force a 5-4 advantage. The teams traded the next several points, with Isham and Walker accounting for set-tying scores (7-7). Another kill from Walker evened the score at 10 and kicked off a 5-1 run that included a kill and two blocks from Okpara (solo, assisted with Hatchett). Air Force continued to lead, but New Mexico closed the gap to one at the 17-16 mark. A kill and two aces from Fiaseu headlined a 4-0 run by the Falcons (23-16), while an attacking error by the Lobos put Air Force at match-point (24-18). New Mexico held Air Force scoreless during a 4-0 run, but Hatchett put down the final kill from the 25-22 win – marking the Falcons' first sweep of the Lobos since 2019.
After spending two weeks on the road, Air Force (12-12, 4-8) return to the Academy next week a two-week homestand. The Falcons kick off its final homestand of the year against San Jose State on Nov. 6.
Team Stats
USAFA
UNM
Kills
41
30
Errors
16
19
Attempts
107
93
Hitting %
.234
.118
Points
60.0
44.0
Assists
39
27
Aces
11
6
Blocks
8
8
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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