Air Force Falls to Utah in Neutral Site Matchup

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Air Force	14	20	19	0
Utah	25	25	25	3

Air Force

Utah

GREELEY, Colo. -- A young Air Force volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to former conference foe Utah this afternoon (Sept. 17), as it continued action at the UNC Volleyball Invitational, Presented by DoubleTree Greeley Lincoln Park. The Falcons, who have not faced the Utes since 2010, fell in straight 14-25, 20-25, 19-25 sets at Bank of Colorado Arena.

Air Force earned kills from freshman Kennedy Simon, junior Grace Fiaseu, and freshman Karina Mendivil to stay within one (4-5) in the early minutes of the opening frame, but Utah, who opened the season receiving votes in the coaches' poll, scored the next five points to take a 10-4 advantage. Simon, Mendivil and junior Lainie Stapleton added kills to put the Falcons in double figures at 10-14. Freshman Jenness Orcutt added a pair of kills, but the Utes closed on an 8-2 run to claim the opening set by a 25-14 margin.

Backed by three scores from Fiaseu (assisted block with Stapleton, solo block, ace), the Falcons jumped out to a fast 5-1 lead to start the second set – and pushed that advantage to five (8-3) off a block from Mendivil and sophomore Sonia Donkeng Okpara. The Utes recorded with nine of the next 10 scores, before Fiaseu and Orcutt stopped the run with a block and junior Mia Loyd added an ace to pull the Falcons within one (11-12). Donkeng Okpara registered a solo stop to maintain the one-point deficit (17-18), but Utah scored seven of the final 10 points to take the 25-20 win.

A pair of kills from Fiaseu helped Air Force to an early three-all tie in the third, but Utah scored seven of the next eight to open up a 10-4 advantage. Orcutt stopped the run with a kill and added another strike as Air Force answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead at 10-9. A score from Simon broke up a 10-2 run by the Utes that pushed their advantage to 19-12, while a kill and block from Stapleton (assisted with Donkeng Okpara) headlined a 5-1 run by Air Force that cut the deficit to three (17-20). Despite the comeback attempt, Utah was able to score five of the final seven points for the 25-19 win.

Orcutt led all Falcons with five kills, while Mendivil added four. Loyd and Fiaseu, who both served up an ace in the match, led the team in assists (eight) and blocks (three / two solo, one assist), respectively, while Donkeng Okpara tied with Fiaseu with three stops (one solo, two assisted) and freshman Ella Vogel accounted for nine digs

The Falcons close out the UNC Volleyball Invitational – and the non-conference season – tomorrow (Sept. 18) night, when they take on tournament host Northern Colorado at 6:00 p.m. (MT) inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.