Saturday, August 29
Chestnut Hill, MA
12:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
1-1,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
0
Quinnipiac
0-1,0-0MAAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac | 24 | 18 | 16 | 0 |
| Air Force | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Air Force Sweeps Quinnipiac for First Win of 2026
8/29/2026 3:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Facing an opponent that had no answer for junior Alysa Walker, the Air Force volleyball team swept Quinnipiac this afternoon (Aug. 29) to wrap up its season-opening weekend at the Chestnut Hill Invitational. After a gritty back-and-forth 26-24 victory in the first set, the Falcons rolled to a pair of 25-18, 25-16 wins to sweep the Bobcats and improve to 1-1 on the young season.
The Falcons' offense went through Walker on Saturday, as she accounted for 19 of the team's 37 kills on .375 hitting – committing just three errors on 43 swings. The junior also served up two of Air Force's three service aces and added 10 digs and two blocks (one solo, one assisted) to her defensive line. Classmate Mia Loyd rang up 32 assists, while fellow junior Grace Fiaseu led the team with three blocks (all assisted), tallied seven kills for the second-straight day and posted the Falcons' third ace. Freshman Aylani Correa rounded out Air Force's list of stat leaders with 13 digs,
The Bobcats took an early lead to open the match and pushed their advantage out to 14-8, before a pair of kills from Walker bookended a four-point swing that pulled the Falcons within two (12-14). Quinnipiac broke the Falcons' run on the next play and the teams traded the next 10 points, with Walker putting down a pair of kills during that stretch (17-20). Kills from Fiaseu and Walker backed a 3-0 run that tied the set at 20, while Walked added another set-tying kill at 21-all. After forcing the Bobcats into a pair of errors that tied the set at 22 and 23, freshman Kennedy Simon produced a kill that evened the score at 24-24. Walker followed Simon's strike with back-to-back kills to secure the comeback and give Air Force its first set-win of the year at 26-24.
The second set started exactly how the first set ended, as Walke got past the Quinnipiac blockers for a kill. The junior added another strike and teamed up with Fiaseu for a block to tie the score at four, while Fiaseu put down a kill and assisted on a block with senior Annamaria Ramos during a 5-1 run that gave Air Force a 9-6 lead. Freshman Jenness Orcutt put the Falcons in double digits (10-7), while two more kills from Walker and a solo stop from Simon helped push Air Force to a five-point lead (17-12). Orcutt added another kill, while the Falcons pushed their lead out behind a block from Loyd and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara (21-15). Quinnipiac scored on back-to-back plays at the 22-18 mark, but Air Force quickly responded with the final three points for the 25-18 win.
Although Quinnipiac took a 5-2 lead to start the third, Air Force responded with five of the next six points, as multiple scores from Walker and Fiaseu (kill/ace for both) and a strike Orcutt gave Air Force a 7-6 advantage The Bobcats retook the lead at 8-7 and 10-9, but Simon and Walker answered with three-straight kills to retake the lead at the 12-10 mark. Following a tie at 12, the Falcons rattled off nine of the next 11 points (21-14) behind kills from Walker, Orcutt, Simon and Loyd – as well as Walker's second ace of the afternoon. Fiaseu added another kill, while Donkeng Okpara put down a kill at 24-15 and teamed up with Simon for a block to secure the 25-16 win and complete the 3-0 sweep.
The Falcons return to action next week, when they travel to Vermillion, S.D., to face Northern Iowa (Sept. 3), South Dakota (Sept. 4), and Utah Valley (Sept. 5) at the South Dakota Classic. All three of the Falcons matches at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center are slated to be streamed live on Midco Sports+.
The Falcons' offense went through Walker on Saturday, as she accounted for 19 of the team's 37 kills on .375 hitting – committing just three errors on 43 swings. The junior also served up two of Air Force's three service aces and added 10 digs and two blocks (one solo, one assisted) to her defensive line. Classmate Mia Loyd rang up 32 assists, while fellow junior Grace Fiaseu led the team with three blocks (all assisted), tallied seven kills for the second-straight day and posted the Falcons' third ace. Freshman Aylani Correa rounded out Air Force's list of stat leaders with 13 digs,
The Bobcats took an early lead to open the match and pushed their advantage out to 14-8, before a pair of kills from Walker bookended a four-point swing that pulled the Falcons within two (12-14). Quinnipiac broke the Falcons' run on the next play and the teams traded the next 10 points, with Walker putting down a pair of kills during that stretch (17-20). Kills from Fiaseu and Walker backed a 3-0 run that tied the set at 20, while Walked added another set-tying kill at 21-all. After forcing the Bobcats into a pair of errors that tied the set at 22 and 23, freshman Kennedy Simon produced a kill that evened the score at 24-24. Walker followed Simon's strike with back-to-back kills to secure the comeback and give Air Force its first set-win of the year at 26-24.
The second set started exactly how the first set ended, as Walke got past the Quinnipiac blockers for a kill. The junior added another strike and teamed up with Fiaseu for a block to tie the score at four, while Fiaseu put down a kill and assisted on a block with senior Annamaria Ramos during a 5-1 run that gave Air Force a 9-6 lead. Freshman Jenness Orcutt put the Falcons in double digits (10-7), while two more kills from Walker and a solo stop from Simon helped push Air Force to a five-point lead (17-12). Orcutt added another kill, while the Falcons pushed their lead out behind a block from Loyd and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara (21-15). Quinnipiac scored on back-to-back plays at the 22-18 mark, but Air Force quickly responded with the final three points for the 25-18 win.
Although Quinnipiac took a 5-2 lead to start the third, Air Force responded with five of the next six points, as multiple scores from Walker and Fiaseu (kill/ace for both) and a strike Orcutt gave Air Force a 7-6 advantage The Bobcats retook the lead at 8-7 and 10-9, but Simon and Walker answered with three-straight kills to retake the lead at the 12-10 mark. Following a tie at 12, the Falcons rattled off nine of the next 11 points (21-14) behind kills from Walker, Orcutt, Simon and Loyd – as well as Walker's second ace of the afternoon. Fiaseu added another kill, while Donkeng Okpara put down a kill at 24-15 and teamed up with Simon for a block to secure the 25-16 win and complete the 3-0 sweep.
The Falcons return to action next week, when they travel to Vermillion, S.D., to face Northern Iowa (Sept. 3), South Dakota (Sept. 4), and Utah Valley (Sept. 5) at the South Dakota Classic. All three of the Falcons matches at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center are slated to be streamed live on Midco Sports+.
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
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
QU
USAFA
Kills
37
37
Errors
23
12
Attempts
112
111
Hitting %
.125
.225
Points
44.0
48.0
Assists
36
34
Aces
1
3
Blocks
6
8
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Tuesday, September 01
Tuesday, August 25
Tuesday, August 18
Tuesday, November 25
