Air Force Academy
Saint Louis
Air Force Falls to Tournament Host Saint Louis
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Junior Maggie Sherrill tied for the match lead with 15 kills, while classmates Taylor Parker and Raquel Rosas added totals of 11 and 10, respectively, as the trio combined for 36 of the Falcons' 52 kills. Senior Hillary Keltner tallied 42 assists for the Falcons, while adding a match-best three service aces. Defensively, junior Rebecca Bates paced the team with 13 digs and classmate Akokwe Clement set a new season-high with six blocks (all assisted). Parker added five blocks (one solo, four assisted) as the Falcons out-blocked the Billikens 17-14.
Rosas and Sherrill put down the first two points of the match (2-0), while a kill from Parker evened the score at three. The Falcons took a 5-4 lead following a kill and assisted block from Sherrill (Parker assisted on the block), while kills from freshman Shelley Spires (6-5) and Clement (7-6) kept Air Force ahead. The Falcons extended their advantage to two off of a kill from Rosas at the 9-7 mark, while Parker (11-9, 17-15) and Clement (12-10) helped to maintain that margin. SLU scored the next five points to go up 20-17 and scored five of the final eight points to take the 25-20 victory.
Saint Louis jumped out to a fast 4-1 lead, but Air Force scored the next four points. Kills from Sherrill and Clement bookended a kill and assisted block from Keltner (Clement assisted on the block) during the Falcons' run, while another score by Sherrill put the Falcons up 6-5. SLU scored the next two points to go up 7-6, but Air Force used a 10-2 run to take a 16-9 advantage. Bradley Powers posted a pair of aces during that run, while Rosas put down three kills and assisted on a block with Clement. Air Force reached the 20-point mark off of a kill from Parker and an ace from Keltner, while additional kills from Parker and Rosas, as well as a Rosas/Spires block, gave the Falcons the 25-21 set win.
After recording kills to open the third set, Clement and Parker teamed up for a block to give the Falcons a 3-2 advantage. Saint Louis responded at 8-6, but Keltner put down a kill to help the Falcons retake the lead (9-8). Sherrill evened the score at 10, while Air Force went ahead 15-13 off of another pair of kills from Sherrill, a kill and solo block from Parker and a kill from Spires. SLU scored five straight points to take the 18-15 lead, but kills from Clement (two) and Spires (one) helped the Falcons pull within one (21-20). Despite seeing the gap narrow, Saint Louis scored four of the final five points to take the 25-21 win.
Saint Louis jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, but the Falcons responded with the next five points to force the Billikens into an early timeout at the 6-4 mark. Sherrill and Parker tallied kills during that run, while Keltner served up an ace and Clement/Parker teamed up for a block. Parker added another kill coming out of the timeout, while recording another to put the Falcons up 9-6. SLU scored the next four points to take an 11-10 lead, but Air Force responded with a 4-1 run behind two kills from Rosas and another score by Sherrill. A kill from Parker kept the Falcons up one at 15-14, but the Billikens scored six straight points to go up 20-15, en route to the 25-20 victory.
"Two really good teams played against each other," head coach Matt McShane said after the match. "It was one of those grind-it-out games ... a lot of sideouts, but not a lot of points scored on both sides. So, I'm pleased with the way we're playing. I think we're going to win a lot of matches this year. We're just making a few errors at the wrong times that cost us some games. I'm pleased with the weekend ... if you can have two losses and be pleased, I'm pretty pleased. On the road, we fought really had."
At the conclusion of the match, Keltner was named to the all-tournament team.
Air Force returns to action on Tuesday (Sept. 16), when they host instate rival Denver at 6:00 p.m. The match begins a busy week for the Falcons, as the squad closes out their non-conference schedule at the Lone Star Showdown in Lubbock, Texas, on Sept. 19-20.
