Sept. 28, 2009
Following a short, one-match homestand, the Air Force volleyball team heads back out on the road for another pair of Mountain West Conference matches. The Falcons will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to face TCU on Thursday, Oct. 1, before heading to junior Caroline Kurtz's hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., to take on New Mexico in an afternoon contest on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Match Notes 06: at TCU; at New Mexico 
HISTORY 101
TCU holds a 9-2 advantage over the Falcons. Air Force's last conference win came against the Horned Frogs in 2005. New Mexico also holds the all-time series lead over the Falcons, winning 21 of 23 matches.
OPPONENT QUICK HITS
TCU is currently 13-4 overall and 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Horned Frogs split last weekend with Wyoming (won, 3-0) and Colorado State (lost, 3-0). The loss to CSU snapped an eight-match winning streak. Kourtney Edwards, a two-time MWC Player of the Week, leads TCU with 209 kills and a 3.32 per set average. New Mexico is 9-5 on the year and 1-2 in conference play. The Lobos are coming off a 1-1 weekend on the road against Colorado State (lost, 3-0) and Wyoming (won, 3-1). Lisa Meeter and Taylor Hadfield lead the team in kills, with 136 and 136 total strikes, respectively.
THE COUNTDOWN IS ON
The countdown is toward the Falcons' first-ever televised home match. On Oct. 8, The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network will broadcast Air Force's match with Wyoming live from Clune Arena. It will be the third time in as many years that the two programs have met in a televised match, but the first at the Academy. Due to TV, the match is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
MIDWAY RAMBLINGS
At the unofficial midway point of the season, Air Force is 8-7. It is just the third time in NCAA Division I history that Air Force holds a winning margin 15 matches into the season. The 2009 squad joins the 2003 (10-5) and the 1999 (11-4) teams to accomplish that feat.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Including the two upcoming matches, the Falcons have been on the road for 16 of their first 17 matches. The tallies are a far cry from last year's total, where Air Force was home for 15 of its first 17.
NOW SERVING
Jessica Hellmann tallied three service aces during the Falcons' 3-0 loss to UNLV on Sept. 24, tying for the third-best single-match performance of the season. Her first ace of the night was the Falcons' 79th of the season, matching the total output of aces that the Falcons accounted for one year ago in 29 total matches. This season, in just 15 matches, the Falcons have already accumulated 81.
SWEET CAROLINE
The Falcons have taken to singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" whenever Caroline Kurtz scores for Air Force and the team's vocal chords have been getting a workout this season. The junior, who leads the squad in kills, aces and digs, is ranked in four of the seven Mountain West Conference per-game statistical categories. She is second in aces (0.42), fifth in both kills (3.09) and points (3.61), and 10th in digs (2.74). In addition, her 15 kills against Canisius is tied for the best three-set output in the league, while her five aces against both Louisiana-Monroe and Utah are tied for second.
I'LL TAKE TWO
Air Force has two players ranked in three different conference stat categories, including a pair in the top five. Caroline Kurtz is ranked second in the league with 0.42 aces per set, while Maiya Perich is ranked fifth with a 0.32 average. Kurtz (fifth, 3.09) and Nichole Stilwell (10th, 2.72) are ranked among the leaders in kills per set, while Kelly Spencer (2.91) and Kurtz (2.74) are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in digs per set.
