Falcons Fall in Season Opener at Boston College

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Air Force	18	22	13	0
Boston College	25	25	25	3

Air Force

Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The Air Force volleyball team opened the 2026 season with a 3-0 loss to Boston College this evening (Aug. 28), during the first match of the Chestnut Hill Invitational. The Falcons fell 18-25, 22-25, 13-25 to the host Eagles at the Margot Connell Recreation Center during the program's first-ever meeting again the Eagles.

Junior Grace Fiaseu and freshman Kennedy Simon led the Falcons with seven kills each, while junior Alysa Walker and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara both chipped in five. Fiaseu, who hit .545 on the night with just one error on 11 swings, also posted three solo blocks and one of the team's six service aces. Classmate Mia Loyd, who served up a pair of aces on the night, assisted on 23 of the team's 26 kills. Senior Annamaria Ramos recorded 11 digs, while freshman Aylani Correa added 10 in her collegiate debut as libero.

Freshman Jenness Orcutt opened the 2026 season with a kill, before a strike from Donkeng Okpara tied the set at two. Boston College pushed out to a 10-3 advantage before a service ace from Correa helped stop the run. Kills from Fiaseu and Simon brough the score to 8-12, while another kill from Orcutt sparked a 4-1 run for the Falcons that included scoring strikes from Walker, Simon and Donkeng Okpara that pulled Air Force within two (14-16) and sent the Eagles into a timeout. Boston College scored four of five points out of the timeout and, despite back-to-back kills from Fiaseu, took the opening set by a 25-18 score.

The Eagles struck first in the second set and jumped out to a 4-1 advantage, but the Falcons raced back to take an 11-10 lead behind two scores from Walker, and a 4-0 run that included points from Orcutt (kill) and Ramos (ace). Air Force maintained a one-point lead (13-12) behind back-to-back scores from Orcutt and Fiaseu, while another two-point stretch (Donkeng Okpara, Walker) gave the Falcons a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Walker and Fiaseu pushed the Falcons' lead to three (18-15), but Boston College tied the set at 19. Simon (20) and Fiaseu (21) broke the tie, but the Eagle scored five of the final six points for the 25-22 victory.

Donkeng Okpara scored the Falcons' first point of the third set (1-1), but the Eagles rolled out to a fast 12-4 lead. Simon put down a pair of kills to make the score 8-13, but another run by Boston College pushed the home team's advantage to 11 (20-9). Fiaseu scored the Falcons' next three points, with one kill and two solo blocks, but the Eagles scored the final points for the 25-13 win.

The Falcons return to the Margot Connell Recreation Center tomorrow (Aug. 29), when they face Quinnipiac at 2:00 p.m. (ET) for their final match of the Chestnut Hill Invitational.

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