Thursday, September 11
Edwardsville, IL
4:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
7-0,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
1
Seattle
5-2,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
Seattle U
25
14
23
20
1
Air Force
23
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Ray Bahner
Falcons Open Cougar Classic with 3-1 Victory over Seattle
9/11/2025 8:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The Air Force volleyball team kicked off the Cougar Classic this evening (Sept. 11) with an impressive 3-1 win over Seattle – its second victory of the year over the Redhawks. With the 23-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-20 win, the Falcons improved to 7-0 on the season – accounting for the program's best start to a season at the Division I level and the longest winning streak during that same timeframe.
Sophomore Alysa Walker collected a match-high 14 kills in the win, while classmate Bella Christensen and senior Ashley Bible posted double-digit totals of 11 and 10, respectively. In addition to their offensive numbers, Christensen accounted for a team-high seven blocks (all assisted), Walker notched her third double-double of the year with 10 digs, and Bible was one of four Falcons to serve up an ace. Senior Alex Hatchett added six stops (one solo, five assisted), while sophomore Mia Loyd rounded out the stats leaders with 43 assists.
Hatchett put down the opening point of the match, while the Falcons pushed their advantage out to three (5-2) following multiple points from Walker (two kills) and Christensen (kill, block with sophomore Grace Fiaseu). The Redhawks tied the set at seven and eventually took a 13-10 lead. Senior Jordan Suan served up an ace, but Air Force entered the media timeout in a 12-15 deficit. The teams traded the next several points, with Air Force earning its points off kills from Walker (two) and Bible (one). The senior put down back-to-back kills, while Hatchett and Fiaseu added scores to help Air Force even the set at 21. Walker added another kill, but Seattle clinched the opening set by a narrow 25-23 margin.
Hatchett put down a kill and two blocks (one solo, one assisted with Walker) to springboard Air Force into a fast 5-1 start to the second and send Seattle into an early timeout. The senior continued her run with the first point out of the break, while her blocking partner added a kill to push the Falcons' lead out to five (8-3) and another to put the Falcons in double figures (10-6). Air Force doubled up Seattle by the 12-6 and 14-7 marks, while a Hatchett/Christensen block, a Christensen kill and a and service ace from Loyd pushed the Falcons' advantage out to 10 (19-9). Another kill from Christensen sparked a set-closing run by the Falcons that included a kill from Fiaseu, an ace from freshman Sophie Bridges and a final strike from Walker that secured the easy 25-14 win.
Despite Christensen and Fiaseu putting down kills and teaming up for a block in the opening plays of the third set, Seattle jumped out to an early 9-5 lead that had Air Force head coach Macey Donathan calling a timeout. The Falcons rattled off six-straight points out of the break – including a pair of Christense/Hatchett blocks – to take an 11-9 lead. Seattle cut the Falcons' lead to three at the 15-12 mark, before another Hatchett/Christensen block stopped the run, while consecutive kills from Christensen, Walker and Loyd pushed Air Force's advantage to four (19-15). Seattle evened the set at 19, but Walker put down a kill to stop their run. The sophomore's strike sparked a four-point swing for the Falcons, while a kill from Fiaseu put Air Force at set point (24-21) and a strike from Bible secured the 25-23 victory.
Seattle struck first in the fourth, jumping out to a 9-5 lead, before the Falcons evened the set at 11 – helped in part by kills from Loyd, Bible and Hatchett. The teams traded the next several points, with Christensen (12), Walker (14) and Bible (18) accounting for set-tying kills. A second Walker strike evened the set at 19 – and sparked a match-closing 7-1 run by Air Force. Christensen notched a pair of kills and assisted on a block during the run, while Fiaseu – who assisted on the stop – put down the final score for the Falcons' 25-20 victory.
With its second win of the season over Seattle, Air Force improved to 2-3 all-time against the Redhawks.
Air Force continues action at the Cougar Classic tomorrow (Sept. 12), when it takes on tournament host SIUE at 6:00 p.m. (CT) inside First Community Arena at the Vandalabene Center.
Sophomore Alysa Walker collected a match-high 14 kills in the win, while classmate Bella Christensen and senior Ashley Bible posted double-digit totals of 11 and 10, respectively. In addition to their offensive numbers, Christensen accounted for a team-high seven blocks (all assisted), Walker notched her third double-double of the year with 10 digs, and Bible was one of four Falcons to serve up an ace. Senior Alex Hatchett added six stops (one solo, five assisted), while sophomore Mia Loyd rounded out the stats leaders with 43 assists.
Hatchett put down the opening point of the match, while the Falcons pushed their advantage out to three (5-2) following multiple points from Walker (two kills) and Christensen (kill, block with sophomore Grace Fiaseu). The Redhawks tied the set at seven and eventually took a 13-10 lead. Senior Jordan Suan served up an ace, but Air Force entered the media timeout in a 12-15 deficit. The teams traded the next several points, with Air Force earning its points off kills from Walker (two) and Bible (one). The senior put down back-to-back kills, while Hatchett and Fiaseu added scores to help Air Force even the set at 21. Walker added another kill, but Seattle clinched the opening set by a narrow 25-23 margin.
Hatchett put down a kill and two blocks (one solo, one assisted with Walker) to springboard Air Force into a fast 5-1 start to the second and send Seattle into an early timeout. The senior continued her run with the first point out of the break, while her blocking partner added a kill to push the Falcons' lead out to five (8-3) and another to put the Falcons in double figures (10-6). Air Force doubled up Seattle by the 12-6 and 14-7 marks, while a Hatchett/Christensen block, a Christensen kill and a and service ace from Loyd pushed the Falcons' advantage out to 10 (19-9). Another kill from Christensen sparked a set-closing run by the Falcons that included a kill from Fiaseu, an ace from freshman Sophie Bridges and a final strike from Walker that secured the easy 25-14 win.
Despite Christensen and Fiaseu putting down kills and teaming up for a block in the opening plays of the third set, Seattle jumped out to an early 9-5 lead that had Air Force head coach Macey Donathan calling a timeout. The Falcons rattled off six-straight points out of the break – including a pair of Christense/Hatchett blocks – to take an 11-9 lead. Seattle cut the Falcons' lead to three at the 15-12 mark, before another Hatchett/Christensen block stopped the run, while consecutive kills from Christensen, Walker and Loyd pushed Air Force's advantage to four (19-15). Seattle evened the set at 19, but Walker put down a kill to stop their run. The sophomore's strike sparked a four-point swing for the Falcons, while a kill from Fiaseu put Air Force at set point (24-21) and a strike from Bible secured the 25-23 victory.
Seattle struck first in the fourth, jumping out to a 9-5 lead, before the Falcons evened the set at 11 – helped in part by kills from Loyd, Bible and Hatchett. The teams traded the next several points, with Christensen (12), Walker (14) and Bible (18) accounting for set-tying kills. A second Walker strike evened the set at 19 – and sparked a match-closing 7-1 run by Air Force. Christensen notched a pair of kills and assisted on a block during the run, while Fiaseu – who assisted on the stop – put down the final score for the Falcons' 25-20 victory.
With its second win of the season over Seattle, Air Force improved to 2-3 all-time against the Redhawks.
Air Force continues action at the Cougar Classic tomorrow (Sept. 12), when it takes on tournament host SIUE at 6:00 p.m. (CT) inside First Community Arena at the Vandalabene Center.
Team Stats
SU
USAFA
Kills
40
53
Errors
29
16
Attempts
128
127
Hitting %
.086
.291
Points
53.0
66.0
Assists
33
46
Aces
9
4
Blocks
4
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMacey Donathan Interview Sept 9, 2025
Tuesday, September 09
Macey Donathan Interview - September 2nd, 2025
Tuesday, September 02
Falcons win big over Seattle U
Sunday, August 31
Air Force wins in 4 sets against Portland State
Saturday, August 30
