Thursday, October 22
El Paso, TX
6:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
7-13,3-6Mountain West
0
at
3
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UTEP
13-8,5-4Mountain West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 21 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| UTEP | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: Maximo Chong, UTEP Athletics
10/22/2026 10:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
EL PASO, Texas -- The Air Force volleyball team dropped a 3-0 contest to Mountain West newcomer UTEP this evening (Oct. 22) at Memorial Gym in El Paso. Facing each other as conference opponents for the first time in 29 years, the Falcons fell in straight 21-25, 20-25, 20-25 sets.
Junior Alysa Walker led the Falcons – and tied for second in the match – with nine kills, while freshman Jenness Orcutt accounted for seven and junior Grace Fiaseu added six on .400 hitting (6-2-10). Junior Mia Loyd assisted on 17 kills, while freshman Ella Vogel (11 digs) and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara (three blocks: one solo, two assisted) served as the team's defensive leaders.
Orcutt accounted for the Falcons' first three points, as kills from the freshman helped Air Force to a three-all tie in the opening minutes of the match. The Miners responded with eight of the next nine points, before senior Annamaria Ramos stopped the scoring with a kill. Fiaseu and Walker added kills on back-to-back plays, but the Falcons entered the media timeout with a 9-15 deficit. Backed by three strikes from Walker, the pair combined for the Falcons' next four scores (13-22), but the Miners reached set-point with 10-point lead (24-14). However, Air Force was not finished with the set – rattling off seven-straight points behind strong serving from freshman Aylani Correa, who registered an ace during the run. The Falcons also combined for their first two blocks of the night, while forcing UTEP into three errors, before the home squad was able to secure the final point for the 25-21 win.
The momentum from the end of the first set continued into the second, as Ramos opened the frame with an ace and Air Force took an early 6-4 lead off kills from Orcutt and Walker. The Miners evened the set at six and the teams traded the next six points (9-9), with Ramos (two) and Walker (one) accounting for the Falcons' set-leading scores. After tying the set at nine, UTEP ended the back-and-forth play with four straight scores and took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Ramos tallied a pair of kills coming out of the break to cut the deficit to two (13-15), while Orcutt maintained that margin at the 15-17 mark. The Miners pushed their lead to four (20-16) and despite kills from Walker, Donkeng Okpara, Orcutt and junior Lainie Stapleton, secured the second set by a 25-20 margin.
Air Force jumped out to a fast 6-2 lead in the third – a run backed by a pair of scores from Walker and Donkeng Okpara, who tallied individual points (kill for Walker, block for Donkeng Okpara) and teamed up for a stop. The Miners answered with six of the next seven scores to take an 8-7 lead. Donkeng Okpara tied the set on the next play and the teams traded the next eight scores – with kills from Stapleton and Donkeng Okpara helping Air Force to a 12-all tie. Pope served up an ace for the Falcons' first lead of the run (13-12) and the back-and-forth play continued, with Donkeng Okpara and Stapleton accounting for another pair of kills for a 15-14 Air Force lead. The Miners edged ahead (18-17) and Fiaseu answered with a pair of set-tying kills, but UTEP scored six of the final seven points to claim another 25-20 win.
The Falcons return to Memorial Gym on Saturday (Oct. 24) afternoon, for the series finale with the Miners. Action begins at 1:00 p.m. (MT) and will be streamed live on the MW+.
Junior Alysa Walker led the Falcons – and tied for second in the match – with nine kills, while freshman Jenness Orcutt accounted for seven and junior Grace Fiaseu added six on .400 hitting (6-2-10). Junior Mia Loyd assisted on 17 kills, while freshman Ella Vogel (11 digs) and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara (three blocks: one solo, two assisted) served as the team's defensive leaders.
Orcutt accounted for the Falcons' first three points, as kills from the freshman helped Air Force to a three-all tie in the opening minutes of the match. The Miners responded with eight of the next nine points, before senior Annamaria Ramos stopped the scoring with a kill. Fiaseu and Walker added kills on back-to-back plays, but the Falcons entered the media timeout with a 9-15 deficit. Backed by three strikes from Walker, the pair combined for the Falcons' next four scores (13-22), but the Miners reached set-point with 10-point lead (24-14). However, Air Force was not finished with the set – rattling off seven-straight points behind strong serving from freshman Aylani Correa, who registered an ace during the run. The Falcons also combined for their first two blocks of the night, while forcing UTEP into three errors, before the home squad was able to secure the final point for the 25-21 win.
The momentum from the end of the first set continued into the second, as Ramos opened the frame with an ace and Air Force took an early 6-4 lead off kills from Orcutt and Walker. The Miners evened the set at six and the teams traded the next six points (9-9), with Ramos (two) and Walker (one) accounting for the Falcons' set-leading scores. After tying the set at nine, UTEP ended the back-and-forth play with four straight scores and took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Ramos tallied a pair of kills coming out of the break to cut the deficit to two (13-15), while Orcutt maintained that margin at the 15-17 mark. The Miners pushed their lead to four (20-16) and despite kills from Walker, Donkeng Okpara, Orcutt and junior Lainie Stapleton, secured the second set by a 25-20 margin.
Air Force jumped out to a fast 6-2 lead in the third – a run backed by a pair of scores from Walker and Donkeng Okpara, who tallied individual points (kill for Walker, block for Donkeng Okpara) and teamed up for a stop. The Miners answered with six of the next seven scores to take an 8-7 lead. Donkeng Okpara tied the set on the next play and the teams traded the next eight scores – with kills from Stapleton and Donkeng Okpara helping Air Force to a 12-all tie. Pope served up an ace for the Falcons' first lead of the run (13-12) and the back-and-forth play continued, with Donkeng Okpara and Stapleton accounting for another pair of kills for a 15-14 Air Force lead. The Miners edged ahead (18-17) and Fiaseu answered with a pair of set-tying kills, but UTEP scored six of the final seven points to claim another 25-20 win.
The Falcons return to Memorial Gym on Saturday (Oct. 24) afternoon, for the series finale with the Miners. Action begins at 1:00 p.m. (MT) and will be streamed live on the MW+.
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Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
USAFA
UTEP
Kills
35
47
Errors
23
16
Attempts
112
116
Hitting %
.107
.267
Points
42.0
62.0
Assists
34
44
Aces
3
3
Blocks
4
12
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Tuesday, October 20
Monday, October 19
Monday, October 19
Friday, October 16
