Sept. 16, 2008
The Air Force volleyball team opens Mountain West Conference action this weekend, as it hosts UNLV and San Diego State at Clune Arena. The Falcons will face the Rebels on Thursday, Sept. 18, before closing out a season-opening 13-match homestand against the Aztecs on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Weekly Notes 04: UNLV, San Diego State 
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!!
Mountain West Conference action begins this week for all nine schools, beginning with New Mexico at TCU on Wednesday, while Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming take to the court on Thursday. San Diego State will start league play on Saturday, when they visit the Falcons.
OPPONENT QUICK HITS
UNLV is 4-5 on the season, while San Diego State is 3-6. The Falcons are 2-22 all-time against the Rebels and 1-22 all-time against the Aztecs. Air Force's last victory over UNLV and its only win over SDSU happened in back-to-back matches during the 1999 season. The Aztecs will play at Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday (Sept. 16), while the Rebels will remain in Colorado to participate in the Denver Invitational over the Sept. 19-20 weekend.
TUNE IN TO KAFA
This week's matches against UNLV and San Diego State will be broadcast live on KAFA (97.7fm) in the Colorado Springs area. Those matches can be accessed through the KAFA ONLINE site at www.usafa.org. Post-match interviews with select players and coaches can be heard after each match on KAFA.
REMEMBERING WHEN
Last season, Air Force claimed a thrilling 30-24 game-victory over San Diego State. It marked the Falcons first game-win in a regular season Mountain West Conference match since Nov. 11, 2005. It was a `block party' for the Falcons, whose 14.0 total blocks (six solo, 16 assisted) shattered the previous season-high of 9.5.
STEWART NAMED USAFA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Senior co-captain Kristina Stewart was named the Academy's Athlete of the Week on Sept. 15, after guiding the Falcons to a 3-1 record at the Air Force Invitational. In the four matches, Stewart collected 58 kills, 54 digs, five assists, one ace and five total blocks.
THREE OUTTA FOUR AIN'T BAD
The Falcons' 3-1 weekend on Sept. 12-13 marked the best four-match stretch for Air Force since the 2004 season. That year, Air Force rebounded after falling to Mississippi State and completed victories over Louisiana-Lafayette, Army and Navy in two separate tournaments.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
Senior Kristina Stewart accounted for a double-double (kills-digs) in each of the four matches the Falcons played over the Sept. 12-13 weekend. She tallied a weekend-best 19 kills and 17 digs against Florida Atlantic, while posting totals of 16 kills-13 digs against Kent State. She also added 12 kills/ 13 digs against Texas A&M Corpus Christi and 11 kills/11 digs against North Carolina Central.
TERRIFFIC TRIO
Senior Kristina Stewart, junior Michelle Harrington and freshman Victoria Martinez were named to the all-tournament team of the Air Force Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Sept. 12-13.
GET OUT OF TOWN
Air Force will finally leave the friendly confines of the Academy on Sept. 25, when it travels to the state of Utah for a pair of conference matches against Utah and BYU. The Cougars are currently ranked 24th in the nation, while the Utes are receiving votes.
MARK YOUR CALENDERS
The Mountain West Conference announced that the times have changed for the Falcons' final two matches. The Nov. 20 match at San Diego State will be played at 6 p.m. (PST), while the Nov. 22 match at UNLV has been moved up to 1 p.m. (PST).
HELPING HANDS
Sophomore Jessica Hellmann has accounted for 267 assists in the first three weeks of the season. Her 8.34 assist-per-set average is ranked eighth in the Mountain West Conference. Hellmann had a career-best performance against Southern Mississippi on Aug. 31, accounting for 36 helpers.
MORE NEWS FROM THE LEAGUE
Air Force is ranked fourth in opponent hitting percentage at .160. As a team, the Falcons are ranked fifth in digs, with a 12.98 per-set average, while freshman Victoria Martinez is ranked eighth, individually, with a 3.11 average. The 19-kill single-match output that seniors Jasamine Pettie and Kristina Stewart have each produced is tied for fifth in the league. Junior Michelle Harrington's eight-block outing against Montana State is tied for fourth. The 67 kills Air Force produced against Kent State is fifth, while their 61 assists in that match is tied for fourth. The 81-dig match against Montana State is the third-best single-match performance to date.
