Thursday, September 10
USAFA
7:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Little Rock
Falcons Open Home Slate Hosting Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic
9/8/2026 4:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Air Force volleyball team opens the home portion of the 2026 season this week, when it hosts the annual Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at the Academy on Sept. 10-12. The Falcons, who will welcome Idaho State, Little Rock and Tennessee Tech to Cadet East Gym for the six-match tournament.
MATCH INFORMATION
The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic will be held at the Academy's Cadet East Gym on Sept. 10-12. Tickets can be purchased at AFTickets.com and spectators must request base access prior to arriving at the Academy (information below) and adhere to the athletic department's Clear Bag Policy. Live stats will be available for every match via StatBroadcast, while all three Air Force matches will be broadcast live on the MW+ (information below), with Jason Carter and George Egan on the call.
AIR FORCE VOLLEYBALL – AMY SVOBODA MEMORIAL CLASSIC
Thursday – Saturday | September 10-12
USAFA | Cadet East Gym
Air Force Volleyball Notes | Tickets | Base Access
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
09.10 – Tennessee Tech vs Idaho State – 4:00 pm – Stats
09.10 – Air Force vs Little Rock – 7:00 pm – Stats – MW+
09.11 – Idaho State vs Little Rock – 4:00 pm – Stats
09.11 – Air Force vs Tennessee Tech – 7:00 pm – Stats – MW+
09.12 – Little Rock vs Tennessee Tech – 11:00 am – Stats
09.12 – Air Force vs Idaho State – 1:30 pm – Stats – MW+
MW+ - THE NEW HOME OF MOUNTAIN WEST SPORTS
Over the summer, the Mountain West launched MW+, its new digital subscription platform, powered by Kiswe. The platform marked a significant step forward in the conference's digital evolution, delivering expanded access to live and on-demand content, while creating new opportunities for fan engagement and revenue generation for member institutions. MW+, which will offer an annual subscription for $79.99 and a month subscription for $10.99, is available on a variety of platforms and devices, including web, iPhone and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, Amazon Prime Channels (coming soon), and more.
BASE ACCESS
Anyone without a DoD ID card must obtain a visitor pass to enter the Air Force Academy for athletic events. Please click HERE for more information and to apply for a visitors pass.
REMEMBERING AMY SVOBODA
This weekend's tournament is named after Amy Svoboda, a 1989 Academy graduate and four-year letterwinner on the Air Force volleyball team, who was killed during an A-10 training accident in 1997. Svoboda, who earned MVP honors during her senior season with the Falcons, was one of the first 14 female fighter pilots in the Air Force – and one of the first six to fly the A-10.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic was created in 2014 to honor the Falcons' fallen teammate, and past champions include Air Force (2022, 2025), Arizona State (2015), California (2014), Grand Canyon (2016), South Dakota (2024), Valparaiso (2018), Virginia Tech (2019), and UT Arlington (2023).
DID YOU KNOW?
Air Force head coach Macey Donathan was a member of the Arizona State team that won the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic in 2015 – accounting for 28 kills and 11 blocks over the weekend.
ON THURSDAY, WE WEAR BLUE
The Falcons are having a Blue Out during Thursday's home opener against Little Rock.
HOME SWEET HOME
Backed by six-straight victories, the Falcons are also 18-12 in home openers since joining Division I.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS – LITTLE ROCK
Little Rock is 5-1 on the season, following a 2-1 weekend at the Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Missouri State. After opening the tournament with a 0-3 loss to the host Bears, the Trojans downed Indiana State (3-2) and Northwestern State – with the latter victory coming in a dominating 25-8, 25-18, 25-11 sweep.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS – TENNESSEE TECH
Tennessee Tech enters the weekend with a 3-2 mark. After opening the season with a pair of losses, the Golden Eagles rebounded with three-straight wins at their home tournament last week. Tech claimed five-set victories over Austin Peay and Green Bay, before closing out the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Tennessee State. After averaging 5.15 kills per set in the tournament, Alayna Pierce was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS – IDAHO STATE
After going 2-1 at the Boise State Classic, Idaho State heads to the Academy with a 4-2 record. The Bengals defeated two teams familiar to the Falcons during their trip to Boise, taking down current Mountain West opponent UNLV (3-1) and former conference foe Boise State on their home court (3-2). After averaging 4.92 digs per set over the weekend, Aspen Boice was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Falcons have faced each team just once – holding a 2-1 combined record. The Falcons last faced Little Rock in 2019, winning a 3-0 neutral contest at the Oral Roberts Invitational. Air Force and Tennessee last met in 1999 – exactly 27 years to the day of this meeting, where the Falcons captured a 3-1 home win over the Golden Eagles at the Falcon Invitational. The Falcons' lone meeting against Idaho State was a neutral site loss (0-3) at the Cal Baptist Volleyball Classic in 2022.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Alysa Walker and Ella Vogel currently lead the Mountain West in their respective categories after two weeks of action, while the Falcons hold the conference's top-ranked averages in assists (11.76) and digs (17.94). Walker is ranked first in kills per set (4.47) and points per set (4.91), while Vogel's 4.25 digs per set is currently No. 1 in the league.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force heads back out on the road – but remains in Colorado – next week, as it wraps up the non-conference portion of its season at the UNC Volleyball Invitational. The Falcons will open the tournament at Denver on Wednesday, Sept. 16, before facing former conference opponent Utah and tournament host Northern Colorado over the next two days (Sept. 17-18) in Greeley.
MATCH INFORMATION
The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic will be held at the Academy's Cadet East Gym on Sept. 10-12. Tickets can be purchased at AFTickets.com and spectators must request base access prior to arriving at the Academy (information below) and adhere to the athletic department's Clear Bag Policy. Live stats will be available for every match via StatBroadcast, while all three Air Force matches will be broadcast live on the MW+ (information below), with Jason Carter and George Egan on the call.
AIR FORCE VOLLEYBALL – AMY SVOBODA MEMORIAL CLASSIC
Thursday – Saturday | September 10-12
USAFA | Cadet East Gym
Air Force Volleyball Notes | Tickets | Base Access
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
09.10 – Tennessee Tech vs Idaho State – 4:00 pm – Stats
09.10 – Air Force vs Little Rock – 7:00 pm – Stats – MW+
09.11 – Idaho State vs Little Rock – 4:00 pm – Stats
09.11 – Air Force vs Tennessee Tech – 7:00 pm – Stats – MW+
09.12 – Little Rock vs Tennessee Tech – 11:00 am – Stats
09.12 – Air Force vs Idaho State – 1:30 pm – Stats – MW+
MW+ - THE NEW HOME OF MOUNTAIN WEST SPORTS
Over the summer, the Mountain West launched MW+, its new digital subscription platform, powered by Kiswe. The platform marked a significant step forward in the conference's digital evolution, delivering expanded access to live and on-demand content, while creating new opportunities for fan engagement and revenue generation for member institutions. MW+, which will offer an annual subscription for $79.99 and a month subscription for $10.99, is available on a variety of platforms and devices, including web, iPhone and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, Amazon Prime Channels (coming soon), and more.
BASE ACCESS
Anyone without a DoD ID card must obtain a visitor pass to enter the Air Force Academy for athletic events. Please click HERE for more information and to apply for a visitors pass.
REMEMBERING AMY SVOBODA
This weekend's tournament is named after Amy Svoboda, a 1989 Academy graduate and four-year letterwinner on the Air Force volleyball team, who was killed during an A-10 training accident in 1997. Svoboda, who earned MVP honors during her senior season with the Falcons, was one of the first 14 female fighter pilots in the Air Force – and one of the first six to fly the A-10.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic was created in 2014 to honor the Falcons' fallen teammate, and past champions include Air Force (2022, 2025), Arizona State (2015), California (2014), Grand Canyon (2016), South Dakota (2024), Valparaiso (2018), Virginia Tech (2019), and UT Arlington (2023).
DID YOU KNOW?
Air Force head coach Macey Donathan was a member of the Arizona State team that won the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic in 2015 – accounting for 28 kills and 11 blocks over the weekend.
ON THURSDAY, WE WEAR BLUE
The Falcons are having a Blue Out during Thursday's home opener against Little Rock.
HOME SWEET HOME
Backed by six-straight victories, the Falcons are also 18-12 in home openers since joining Division I.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS – LITTLE ROCK
Little Rock is 5-1 on the season, following a 2-1 weekend at the Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Missouri State. After opening the tournament with a 0-3 loss to the host Bears, the Trojans downed Indiana State (3-2) and Northwestern State – with the latter victory coming in a dominating 25-8, 25-18, 25-11 sweep.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS – TENNESSEE TECH
Tennessee Tech enters the weekend with a 3-2 mark. After opening the season with a pair of losses, the Golden Eagles rebounded with three-straight wins at their home tournament last week. Tech claimed five-set victories over Austin Peay and Green Bay, before closing out the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Tennessee State. After averaging 5.15 kills per set in the tournament, Alayna Pierce was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS – IDAHO STATE
After going 2-1 at the Boise State Classic, Idaho State heads to the Academy with a 4-2 record. The Bengals defeated two teams familiar to the Falcons during their trip to Boise, taking down current Mountain West opponent UNLV (3-1) and former conference foe Boise State on their home court (3-2). After averaging 4.92 digs per set over the weekend, Aspen Boice was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Falcons have faced each team just once – holding a 2-1 combined record. The Falcons last faced Little Rock in 2019, winning a 3-0 neutral contest at the Oral Roberts Invitational. Air Force and Tennessee last met in 1999 – exactly 27 years to the day of this meeting, where the Falcons captured a 3-1 home win over the Golden Eagles at the Falcon Invitational. The Falcons' lone meeting against Idaho State was a neutral site loss (0-3) at the Cal Baptist Volleyball Classic in 2022.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Alysa Walker and Ella Vogel currently lead the Mountain West in their respective categories after two weeks of action, while the Falcons hold the conference's top-ranked averages in assists (11.76) and digs (17.94). Walker is ranked first in kills per set (4.47) and points per set (4.91), while Vogel's 4.25 digs per set is currently No. 1 in the league.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force heads back out on the road – but remains in Colorado – next week, as it wraps up the non-conference portion of its season at the UNC Volleyball Invitational. The Falcons will open the tournament at Denver on Wednesday, Sept. 16, before facing former conference opponent Utah and tournament host Northern Colorado over the next two days (Sept. 17-18) in Greeley.
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballTuesday, September 15
Saturday, September 12
Friday, September 11
Thursday, September 10
