Air Force Academy

Sept. 16, 2011

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - The Air Force volleyball team recorded a season-best hitting percentage of .302, but dropped a 3-0 contest to Seattle during the first match of the Aggie Invitational on Friday, Sept. 16, in Davis, Calif. The Falcons, who connected on 42 of 96 attempts, while committing 13 errors, for the season-best clip, fell in straight 26-24, 25-21, 25-21 sets.

Freshman Kristen Holt paced the Falcons with a season-best .600 hitting percentage, accounting for six kills on 10 attempts and no errors. Classmates Megan Clary (.333, 5k-1e-12a) and Ayesha Hein (.318, 11k-4e-22a) also hit over .300 on the day.

Hein led the Falcons with 11 kills and teamed with Clary for the Falcons' only block. Sophomore Josalynn Wise posted a team-leading 18 assists, while freshman Hillary Keltner added 14. Freshman Emma Dridge recorded the team's lone service ace, while junior Maiya Perich collected 13 digs. Dridge and Perich, both defensive specialists for the team, went one-for-one, en route to their first kills of the season.

Seattle scored the first four points, before Clary put down a kill to stop the Redhawks' opening streak. Hein, sophomore Claire Bieber and classmate Cami Richan added kills, as the Falcons trailed 9-6. Following a timeout, Air Force scored five of the next six points to cut its deficit to just one. During the run, Bieber put down a pair of back-to-back strikes, while Hein added another score. Keltner and Clary accounted for kills, before the Falcons, trailing 18-14, called another timeout. Coming out of the break, Holt's kill sparked a 4-0 run that evened the score at 18. The two programs swapped points and a kill from Richan evened the score at 21. The Falcons went up 23-21 after a pair of SU errors, but the Redhawks scored five of the final six points to win the set 26-24.

The Redhawks struck first in the third set, running out to a 7-2 lead. Holt and Perich added kills, but Seattle extended its lead to 11-4. Following a timeout by the Falcons, Air Force scored eight of the next 13 points, including kills from Clary, Hein, Richan, Dridge and Holt, to bring the score within four at 16-12. Trailing 18-14, Hein and Bieber combined for three kills, while Dridge's ace and Richan's kill tied the set at 19. Air Force took the lead on the ensuing point, but Seattle scored six of the next seven points to take the win 25-21.

Air Force returns to The Pavilion tomorrow (Sept. 17) for a pair of matches. The Falcons will take on host UC Davis at 12:30 p.m., before facing Hofstra at 4:30 p.m.