Friday, October 16
USAFA
6:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
7-12,3-5Mountain West
3
vs
2
Grand Canyon
9-10,3-5Mountain West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 8 | 2 |
| Air Force | 25 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 15 | 3 |
Air Force Edges Grand Canyon With Dramatic 3-2 Victory
10/16/2026 10:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force volleyball team snapped a five-match skid in dramatic fashion this evening (Oct. 16), as it held off Grand Canyon for a thrilling 3-2 victory at the Academy's Cadet East Gym. In another back-and-forth contest between the two teams, the Falcons downed the Antelopes 25-22, 26-24, 24-26, 24-26, 15-8 in a nail-biter.
For the second-straight night, Air Force out-killed the Lopes (74-67) – a statistic backed by four players with double-digit kills. Junior Alysa Walker led the way with a match-high 23 kills, while freshman Jenness Orcutt had a career high 16, senior Annamaria Orcutt added 12, and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara chipped in 11 on a match-high .455 hitting (11-1-22). Orcutt (.394, 16-3-33) and Walker (.370, 23-6-46) both hit over .300 on the night, as Air Force outhit GCU by 36 points (.251-.215).
Junior Mia Loyd accounted for 33 assists, while classmate Grace Fiaseu and freshman Aylani Correa both accounted for a pair of service aces. Walker accounted for a personal-best 20 digs for the second time in as many days, while freshman Ella Vogel (18), Ramos (12), Loyd (11) and sophomore Sam Pope (10) all accounted for double-figure dig totals. At the net, Air Force accounted for 22 assisted blocks (11.0 total stops), backed by a multi-block night from Donkeng Okpara (six), Fiaseu (five), junior Lainie Stapleton (four) and the duo of Orcutt and Ramos, who both accounted for three.
With the performances of Walker (23 kills, 20 digs), Loyd (33 assists, 11 digs), Ramos (12 kills, 12 digs) and Pope (29 assists, 10 digs), Air Force saw four Falcons tally double-doubles on Friday.
The back-and-forth play from last night continued in tonight's contest, as the teams traded the first eight points – Air Force earning three its four scores off kills from Walker, Orcutt, and Donkeng Okpara. The Lopes broke the trend with a four-point run to go up 8-4, but Air Force answered with four of the next five to pull within one (8-9). The Lopes pushed their lead out two three two plays later, but a run that included an Orcutt kill, a Pope ace, and a Donkeng Okpara/Stapleton block tied the set at 12. Donkeng Okpara teamed up with Stapleton and Ramos for back-to-back blocks that sent Air Force into the media timeout with a 15-14 advantage. Another kill from the sophomore, as well as an ace from Correa pushed the Falcons' lead out to three (18-15). Three-straight kills from Orcutt, Stapleton, and Walker put the Falcons at set point (24-20), while Stapleton secured the 25-22 win with her second kill of the night.
The teams traded the opening points of the second set before Air Force turned a four-all tie into a 9-5 lead, backed by a pair of kills from Ramos and another ace from Correa. Another score from the line – this time from Fiaseu, sent Air Force into the media timeout with a 15-8 advantage. A pair of scores from Donkeng Okpara (kill, block with Stapleton) maintained that seven-point advantage at the 18-11 mark, but the Lopes stormed back to pull within one at 19-18. Fiaseu stopped Grand Canyon's run with a kill and added a second strike for a two-point cushion (21-19). GCU tied the set at 22, 23, and 24, but a kill from Ramos and an out-of-bounds attack from the visitors gave Air Force the 26-24 win.
Orcutt opened the scoring in the third, while Donkeng Okpara registered another kill/block (with Stapleton) combination to give Air Force an early 5-2 advantage. Three scores from Fiaseu (two kills, ace) highlighted a 6-1 run that pushed the Falcons' lead to six (13-7), while an Orcutt kill and a Donkeng Okpara/Walker block put the Falcons up 15-10 at the break. A pair of kills from Ramos interrupted a 9-3 run by Grand Canyon, who took its first lead of the set at 20-19. The Lopes pushed their margin to two (22-20), but a kill from Walker helped tie the set two plays later. The junior also tied the set at 23, while Stapleton evened the set at 24, but the Lopes scored the final two points for the 26-24 win.
A Fiaseu/Orcutt block kicked off a 4-1 start to the fourth by Air Force – a run that included a pair of strikes from Walker. The Falcons pushed their advantage to four (6-2) off kills from Orcutt and Walker, while another strike from the junior maintained that lead at 12-8. Grand Canyon rattled off seven of the next eight points to take a 15-13 lead into the media timeout and doubled that advantage by the 21-17 mark. Bookended by a pair of GCU errors, a Fiaseu/Orcutt block pulled Air Force within one (20-21), while kills from Ramos and Orcutt helped tie the set at 23. Air Force was able to tie the set at 24 off another strike from the freshman, but the Lopes forced a fifth set with another 26-24 victory.
Walker opened the deciding set with a pair of kills, while back-to-back scores from Stapleton (kill, block with Fiaseu) allowed Air Force to double-up the Lopes by an early 6-3 margin. A kill from Ramos pushed the Falcons advantage to four (7-3), but Grand Canyon came back to even the score at eight. Orcutt stopped the run with a kill and headlined a match-ending run from the Falcons – accounting for four of the team's final seven points for the 15-8 victory.
With tonight's victory, all three of the Falcons' three home wins over GCU have come in five-set decisions.
Air Force heads back out on the road next week (Oct 22-24), when it travels to El Paso, Texas, to face UTEP for the first time as Mountain West opponents.
For the second-straight night, Air Force out-killed the Lopes (74-67) – a statistic backed by four players with double-digit kills. Junior Alysa Walker led the way with a match-high 23 kills, while freshman Jenness Orcutt had a career high 16, senior Annamaria Orcutt added 12, and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara chipped in 11 on a match-high .455 hitting (11-1-22). Orcutt (.394, 16-3-33) and Walker (.370, 23-6-46) both hit over .300 on the night, as Air Force outhit GCU by 36 points (.251-.215).
Junior Mia Loyd accounted for 33 assists, while classmate Grace Fiaseu and freshman Aylani Correa both accounted for a pair of service aces. Walker accounted for a personal-best 20 digs for the second time in as many days, while freshman Ella Vogel (18), Ramos (12), Loyd (11) and sophomore Sam Pope (10) all accounted for double-figure dig totals. At the net, Air Force accounted for 22 assisted blocks (11.0 total stops), backed by a multi-block night from Donkeng Okpara (six), Fiaseu (five), junior Lainie Stapleton (four) and the duo of Orcutt and Ramos, who both accounted for three.
With the performances of Walker (23 kills, 20 digs), Loyd (33 assists, 11 digs), Ramos (12 kills, 12 digs) and Pope (29 assists, 10 digs), Air Force saw four Falcons tally double-doubles on Friday.
The back-and-forth play from last night continued in tonight's contest, as the teams traded the first eight points – Air Force earning three its four scores off kills from Walker, Orcutt, and Donkeng Okpara. The Lopes broke the trend with a four-point run to go up 8-4, but Air Force answered with four of the next five to pull within one (8-9). The Lopes pushed their lead out two three two plays later, but a run that included an Orcutt kill, a Pope ace, and a Donkeng Okpara/Stapleton block tied the set at 12. Donkeng Okpara teamed up with Stapleton and Ramos for back-to-back blocks that sent Air Force into the media timeout with a 15-14 advantage. Another kill from the sophomore, as well as an ace from Correa pushed the Falcons' lead out to three (18-15). Three-straight kills from Orcutt, Stapleton, and Walker put the Falcons at set point (24-20), while Stapleton secured the 25-22 win with her second kill of the night.
The teams traded the opening points of the second set before Air Force turned a four-all tie into a 9-5 lead, backed by a pair of kills from Ramos and another ace from Correa. Another score from the line – this time from Fiaseu, sent Air Force into the media timeout with a 15-8 advantage. A pair of scores from Donkeng Okpara (kill, block with Stapleton) maintained that seven-point advantage at the 18-11 mark, but the Lopes stormed back to pull within one at 19-18. Fiaseu stopped Grand Canyon's run with a kill and added a second strike for a two-point cushion (21-19). GCU tied the set at 22, 23, and 24, but a kill from Ramos and an out-of-bounds attack from the visitors gave Air Force the 26-24 win.
Orcutt opened the scoring in the third, while Donkeng Okpara registered another kill/block (with Stapleton) combination to give Air Force an early 5-2 advantage. Three scores from Fiaseu (two kills, ace) highlighted a 6-1 run that pushed the Falcons' lead to six (13-7), while an Orcutt kill and a Donkeng Okpara/Walker block put the Falcons up 15-10 at the break. A pair of kills from Ramos interrupted a 9-3 run by Grand Canyon, who took its first lead of the set at 20-19. The Lopes pushed their margin to two (22-20), but a kill from Walker helped tie the set two plays later. The junior also tied the set at 23, while Stapleton evened the set at 24, but the Lopes scored the final two points for the 26-24 win.
A Fiaseu/Orcutt block kicked off a 4-1 start to the fourth by Air Force – a run that included a pair of strikes from Walker. The Falcons pushed their advantage to four (6-2) off kills from Orcutt and Walker, while another strike from the junior maintained that lead at 12-8. Grand Canyon rattled off seven of the next eight points to take a 15-13 lead into the media timeout and doubled that advantage by the 21-17 mark. Bookended by a pair of GCU errors, a Fiaseu/Orcutt block pulled Air Force within one (20-21), while kills from Ramos and Orcutt helped tie the set at 23. Air Force was able to tie the set at 24 off another strike from the freshman, but the Lopes forced a fifth set with another 26-24 victory.
Walker opened the deciding set with a pair of kills, while back-to-back scores from Stapleton (kill, block with Fiaseu) allowed Air Force to double-up the Lopes by an early 6-3 margin. A kill from Ramos pushed the Falcons advantage to four (7-3), but Grand Canyon came back to even the score at eight. Orcutt stopped the run with a kill and headlined a match-ending run from the Falcons – accounting for four of the team's final seven points for the 15-8 victory.
With tonight's victory, all three of the Falcons' three home wins over GCU have come in five-set decisions.
Air Force heads back out on the road next week (Oct 22-24), when it travels to El Paso, Texas, to face UTEP for the first time as Mountain West opponents.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
GCU
USAFA
Kills
67
74
Errors
27
26
Attempts
186
191
Hitting %
.215
.251
Points
83.0
90.0
Assists
62
69
Aces
3
5
Blocks
13
11
Game Leaders
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Friday, October 16
Thursday, October 15
Tuesday, October 13
Saturday, October 10
