Air Force Academy

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- The Air Force volleyball team closed out the William and Mary Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 2) with a three-game loss to the host Tribe. The Falcons' 30-17 losses in the first and third set book-ended a heartbreakingly close 30-27 second set.

Freshman Katie Batchelder, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Falcons with 10 kills. Classmate Jocelyn Booker assisted on four blocks, while fellow freshman Jaclyn Fleming posted a team-best 14 digs. Junior Kim Kallabis and freshman Hannah Sorber, once again sharing duties from the setter position, each tallied 13 helpers. Junior Rebecca Gerton had the team's lone ace.

While the first and third games consisted of several long scoring runs by William and Mary that contributed to the matching 30-17 losses, the second set showed the scrappiness of Air Force's young squad.

The two teams traded points throughout the entire match. Batchelder, Booker and Gerton used kills to score the Falcons first three points and an out of bounds attack by W&M gave the Falcons their first lead. Two more errors by the Tribe increased the Falcons' lead to three. William and Mary tied the set at 12, but the Falcons once again regained the lead. William and Mary took a lead at the 15-14 mark, but Batchelder's kill evened the score once more. The game continued with the two teams trading leads, but William and Mary snuck away at 26-24. Gerton put down a kill that returned the margin to one and Sorber ended a long rally with a tip over the net to hold W&M at game-point, but the host school finally took the final point for the win.

Air Force continues non-conference tournament action next weekend (Sept. 8-9) as it travels to Morehead, Ky., for the Morehead State Tournament.