Air Force Academy

Oct. 16, 2007

The Air Force volleyball team begins the second half of the Mountain West Conference season this week at the Academy's Clune Arena. For the third time in the past four weeks, the Falcons will play in a Thursday night conference match. Air Force hosts TCU on Oct. 18, before welcoming New Mexico to the Academy on Friday, Oct. 19. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Weekly Release 09: TCU; New Mexico (Oct. 18-19)
Download Free Acrobat Reader

ATTENTION: NO VIDEO STREAMING THIS WEEKEND

Due to events surrounding the first-ever Air Force Athletic Department Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this weekend, video streaming will not be available for Thursday or Friday's volleyball matches. However, GameTracker will be running so fans can still follow along at home.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE

TCU, which is currently 17-7 on the season, boasts a 4-4 record in conference action. The Horned Frogs have three players that average over 3.10 kill per game and are led by Kourtney Edwards and her 3.42 average. New Mexico is 14-6 overall, with a 5-3 mark in league play. Jeanne Fairchild leads the team with 4.83 kills, while Anna Lehne accounts for 1.14 blocks per game.

CLIMBING UP THE LADDER

To date, freshman Nichole Stilwell has assisted on 51 blocks, which is just eight shy of entering the Falcons' NCAA Division I single-season match record book. Tiffany Bishop and Kristin Hamlett are currently tied for 10th, with 59 assisted blocks during their respective 2002 and 2004 seasons.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Freshman Tyler West will celebrate her 19th birthday on Saturday, Oct. 20. In all, eight Falcons will turn a year older during the volleyball season.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Falcons, who played just four of 16 matches at the Academy to open the season, are home for four of its next six matches.

CAREER-BEST KALLABIS

Senior Kim Kallabis equaled her single-match career high with 57 assists at Chicago State on Oct. 13. The best output of the 2007 season, Kallabis matched the total that she first set against San Diego State during the 2004 season. With 540 assists on the season, she is now just 10 helpers shy of entering the Academy's Division I Single-Season record book. She is also just seven assists shy of matching her best single-season output of her career.

MORE NOTES FROM CHICAGO STATE

Air Force produced its second-best totals in kills and digs in its non-conference finale at Chicago State on Oct. 13. With 76 kills, the Falcons matched its second-best output of the season (they also accounted for 76 kills at Marist), while finishing just two shy (78) of the season high. In addition, their 76 digs were the second-most of the season, topped only by the 95 against North Carolina A&T.

STEPPING UP

The eight total blocks that the Falcons accumulated against No. 23 Colorado State is the third-best output of the season - surpassed only by totals of 9.5 (North Carolina A&T) and 9.0 (BYU). In addition, the 14 assisted blocks is the third-best total of the year, falling only behind 18 (BYU) and 17 (North Carolina A&T).

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS

Freshman Caroline Kurtz hails from Albuquerque, while New Mexico's Lisa Meeter is from Colorado Springs. In addition, freshman Rachel Lovato grew up in New Mexico, while two other Lobos call Colorado home. TCU doesn't have any Coloradoans on its roster, but the Academy boasts three players and one manager from the Lone Star State, including Stephanie Stanford and Shelby Stinebaugh, who grew up less than an hour from Fort Worth.

WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO!

The Air Force volleyball staff began a new tradition at TCU on Sept. 21, as they unveiled the new "Spirit Award". The honor is given to the athlete that shows the most team spirit during a match. Freshman Jeena Kinney won the honor against Colorado State, while classmate Caroline Kurtz took the award for the match at Chicago State.

NOW SERVING

Backed by the luck of the coin toss, Air Force has earned the right to the first serve in 17 of 22 matches. In addition, the Falcons have served first in the fifth-game during three of four such games.

REACHING THE PLATEAU

Six Falcons have already accounted for over 100 kills this season - two more than the number of players that accomplished that feat all of last season. Katie Batchelder leads the team with 195 kills, while Caroline Kurtz (146), Michelle Harrington (1145), Nichole Stilwell (144) and Kristina Stewart (115) have also entered triple-digit tallies. With 16 kills over the last two matches, Jasamine Pettie joined the group with 102 kills.

DIGGING IT UP

Air Force has six players with at least 100 digs and another one that is just a single dig shy of reaching that distinction. Katie Batchelder leads the team with 172, while Caroline Kurtz has accounted for 152. Kim Kallabis (126), Rebecca Gerton (121) and Kelly Spencer (100) have all reached the 100-dig totals, while Morgan Dolan's next dig will put her at that plateau.

A HELPING HAND

With 1,351 career assists, senior Kim Kallabis has cemented her spot on the Academy's all-time top-10 list and continues to inch closer to the ninth spot. With 123 helpers during the four-match weekend on Sept. 14-15, Kallabis displaced Michelle Clark, who was on the team during the 1987-88 seasons, and had held 10th place with 1081 assists. Since entering NCAA Division I, only three other Falcons (Kristin Huitt, Tharommony In and Carly Siefken) have made the program's all-time assist list, although Katherine Dehne spent the all but one year at the Division I level (the team moved from Division II prior to the 1996 season.

NOW SERVING...

In Mountain West Conference matches, Stephanie Stanford leads the league with a 0.44 aces-per-game average. In 16 games, the freshman has tallied seven aces, including a career-best four-ace output at TCU. Senior Rebecca Gerton is also ranked amongst the top four in aces-per-game average, as she has recorded six aces in 16 games for a 0.38 average. Katie Batchelder sits in fourth in the aces-per-game category (all matches) with 0.35 aces per game. In addition, Stanford is ranked eight (all matches) with 0.32 aces per game.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Air Force is ranked fourth in the league with 1.54 aces per game (all matches). Senior setter Kim Kallabis is currently ranked eighth in the Mountain West Conference with 7.18 assists per game.

TAKING IT MATCH BY MATCH

Katie Batchelder's 29 kills against Marist is the third-best single-match total in the MWC. In addition, Batchelder leads the conference with seven aces against Quinnipiac and is ranked third with a 31.5 point-total against Marist. Air Force's 95 total digs against North Carolina A&T is ranked fourth, while its 15 total aces against Quinnipiac is tied for second and its 14 against Texas Southern is third. In Mountain West Conference matches, Stephanie Stanford leads the league with a four-ace output against TCU.