Air Force Academy
UNLV
Air Force Drops 3-1 Contest to UNLV
11/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Clement tallied 20 of the Falcons' 54 kills, marking the second time in as many matches that an Air Force player has recorded 20 kills against UNLV. Freshman Shelley Spires, who reached the 20-kill total in Las Vegas on Oct. 9, junior Maggie Sherrill and classmate Taylor Parker each added eight kills to the Falcons' stat line. Senior Hillary Keltner, who tallied one of Air Force's four service aces, tallied 45 assists and 17 digs for her ninth double-double of the year.
Keltner was one of three Falcons to reach double digits in digs, as junior Rebecca Bates led the team with 18 and classmate Rachael Bradley Powers added 10. That duo, as well as senior Emma Dridge, accounted for the Falcons' other three service aces. Parker paced the squad with five blocks (one solo, four assisted), while Spires and Sherrill tallied solo stops in route to two total blocks.
UNLV opened the scoring and double up the Falcons at 10-5, despite kills from Spires, Clement, Sherrill and junior Raquel Rosas. The Rebels continued to lead by five (14-9), before Rosas put down a kill that sparked 4-0 run by Air Force that cut its deficit to one (14-13). During the run, Dridge posted an ace, Sherrill tallied a solo block and Spires put down another kill. Sherrill added back-to-back kills and Bradley Powers added an ace during another 3-0 run that saw the Falcons take their first lead of the set (16-15). The Rebels tied the set at 17 and retook the lead on the next point, but three straight attacking errors by the visitors gave the lead back to Air Force (20-19). Rosas put down a kill to tie the set at 21, but the Rebels took the opening set 25-22.
The Rebels claimed six of the first seven points of the second set, before the Falcons came back to even the score at nine. The Falcons recorded three blocks during their run, including a solo stop by Spires and a pair of blocks from Keltner and Parker. Following a service ace from Bates that evened the set at 11, the two squads traded points to account for ties at every point until 16-all. Parker put down a kill and teamed with Sherrill for a block that gave the Falcons a two-point advantage (18-16) and added another kill and a solo stop to push the score to 21-19. UNLV closed the gap to one at 21-20, but Clement scored the final four points to give Ari Force a 25-20 victory that evened the match at one.
Air Force found itself in a 4-1 hole to start the third, before Sherrill put down a kill for the Falcons' first offensive point of the set. Spires, Sherrill and Clement posted kills, but UNLV doubled up Air Force at the 12-6 mark. The Falcons' deficit increased to nine (18-9), despite a service ace from Keltner and a pair of kills from Clement. Senior Victoria Foster added a score that put Air Force into double figures (20-10) and Parker added another pair of scores, but UNLV took the 25-14 win.
Parker opened the fourth set with a kill, while Clement tallied the Falcons' next three points (2-0, 3-2, 4-4). Rosas, Spires and Parker added kills, while an attacking error by UNLV gave the Falcons an 8-6 advantage. UNLV evened the score at nine, but Air Force scored the next five points behind a kill and block from Clement and a pair of kills from Keltner (14-9). The pair added another two kills, as Air Force maintained a two-point lead (16-14). The squads combined for five straight errors, but the Falcons held their two-point advantage (19-17) off of a block from Parker and Spires. UNLV tied the set at 19, but Sherrill put down a kill as the Falcons retook the lead. The Rebels responded with a point and the teams traded the next few points, with Sherrill (20-19) and Clement (21-20, 22-21) keeping the Falcons ahead. UNLV scored two straight points to take a 23-22 lead, but Clement evened the set with a kill. The Rebels reached set-point on the ensuing play, but Sherrill evened the score at 24-all. UNLV closed out the set with the final two points for the 26-24 win.
"We keep getting better and I'm so proud of my team," head coach Matt McShane said. "We are playing some of the best teams (in the conference) and we know that we can win."
Air Force heads north next week for its final Thursday/Saturday slate of the regular season. The Falcons will travel to 10th-ranked Colorado State on Nov. 13, before heading to Wyoming on Nov. 15.
