Air Force Academy
Canisius
Air Force Claims 3-0 Victory over Canisius
9/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Freshman Shelley Spires paced all players with 11 kills, while junior Maggie Sherrill added 10. The Falcons combined for a .352 average, as all seven attackers hit over .200 and five posted averages over .300. Senior Hillary Keltner, who collected a match-best 38 assists, hit a team-leading .667 with four kills on six swings and no errors, while Spires (11k-1e-18a) and senior Victoria Foster (5k-0e-9a) both hit at a .556 clip. Junior Rachael Bradley Powers collected a season-high five service aces, while classmate Rebecca Bates recorded 20 digs and fellow junior Taylor Parker notched a pair of blocks.
Bradley Powers opened the scoring with a service ace, while kills from Sherrill and Keltner pushed the Falcons out to a 4-1 lead. Canisius evened the set at 5, but the Falcons scored four of the next six points off of kills from Parker, Spires and junior Akokwe Clement. Canisius pulled within one 11-10, but another run extended the Air Force lead to 14-10. Spires put down three kills in the waning minutes, while Sherrill and classmate Raquel Rosas added scores that secured the 25-19 win for Air Force.
Backed by kills from Keltner and Parker, the Falcons jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead to open the second set. Canisius once again evened the set at four, but a pair of kills by Spires and a block from Clement and Parker allowed the Falcons to double up the Griffins at 8-4. Bradley Powers collected a pair of aces in the set, and her second put the Falcons up by a 22-16 margin. Foster closed out the set with a pair of kills, as Air Force took the game 25-20.
The third set saw the Falcons jump out to a quick 12-6 advantage, backed by another ace from Bradley Powers and a combined three kills from Sherrill and Parker. That pair also teamed up for a block during that opening run. Two kills by Rosas and another pair from Foster helped the Falcons extend their lead to 12 (18-6). Backed by a solo block and kill from Rosas, another ace from Bradley Powers and kills by Foster, Sherrill and Clement, the Falcons scored six of the final nine points to take the set 25-13.
"Overall, we played very well," head coach Matt McShane said after the match. "Once again, we hit for a really high percentage ... and it was really balanced. It was great to get Vic in, to get Kristen in. It's great to get everyone in. The starters maintained a high level and that allowed us to make some subs and get some people in that don't always get to play. I thought we played great."
Air Force concludes action at the Billiken Invitational tomorrow (Sept. 13) with a pair of matches. The Falcons will face Omaha at 10:00 a.m., before taking on tournament host Saint Louis at 7:00 p.m.
