Nov. 2, 2009
The Air Force volleyball team opens the final month of the season with a pair of road trips to Mountain West Conference opponents. The Falcons first travel to Fort Collins, Colo., on Thursday, Nov. 5, for a matchup with Colorado State, before heading to Laramie, Wyo., on Saturday, Nov. 7, to take on Wyoming. The match with the Rams will take place at 7 p.m., while the showdown with the Cowgirls will take place at 7:30 p.m.
Match Notes 11: at Colorado State; at Wyoming 
COLORADO STATE QUICK HITS
The Rams, 18-4 overall and 10-1 in conference action, is coming off of a 3-0 win over Wyoming in their only match of the weekend. Danielle Minch leads Colorado State with 3.72 kills per game, while Tessa Nelson defensively paces the squad with 1.32 blocks per set. The Rams have won 14 of their last 15 matches, losing just six sets in 11 conference matches. CSU defeated the Falcons in straight sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-20) on Oct. 10.
WYOMING QUICK HITS
Wyoming are 10-15 overall. Offensively, the Cowgirls are led by Jodi Purdy, who averages 3.43 kills per set. Defensively, Jessica Kagarise paces the squad with 3.74 digs per set, while JennaRae Jester averages 1.13 blocks. Although 1-10 in league play (Wyoming swept Air Force in the first meeting this season), Wyoming has gone five with three schools, including Utah and BYU. took San Diego State, BYU and Utah to five sets each. Wyoming will host Colorado Christian (Nov. 3) and San Diego State (Nov. 5) prior to its match with Air Force.
HISTORY 101
Wyoming leads the all-time series with Air Force by a 24-5 margin. The Falcons' last win over the Cowgirls came during a 3-0 victory in 2004 at Laramie. Colorado State is 31-1 all-time against the Falcons. Air Force's only victory in the series came in 1982 (3-0), during the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
COWGIRL CONNECTIONS
Air Force head coach Penny Lucas-White and Wyoming head coach Carrie Yerty both began their head coaching careers at the University of Memphis. Lucas-White coached the Tigers from 1991-96, while Yerty took over Memphis' program in 1996 when Lucas-White accepted the coaching position at the Academy.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Falcons had recorded just one double-double since Sept. 17, but three different Falcons earned that stat mark over the Oct. 29-31 weekend. Dani Griffith earned her first such mark on Oct. 29, collecting 17 assists and 11 digs, while Grace Konstanzer tallied her first double-double on Oct. 31 with 15 kills and 10 digs. Caroline Kurtz also picked up a double-double on Halloween (10 kills-11 digs) for her eighth of the year.
SAVE THE DATE
The Falcons' last MWC victory came on Nov. 7, 2005. This Saturday's match at Wyoming also falls on Nov. 7. It is the first time since that year that the Falcons have played on the seventh day of November. FALCONS TAKE A SET FROM TCU Air Force picked up its first `set' victory at Clune Arena this season, and its first overall since Sept. 17, with a 25-23 win over TCU on Oct. 31. It is the Falcons' first individual set win over TCU since 2005.
THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Grace Konstanzer, Nichole Stilwell and Caroline Kurtz combined for 36 of the Falcons' 45 kills during the 3-1 loss to TCU on Oct. 31. Konstanzer paced the squad with 15 kills, while Stilwell and Kurtz added respective totals of 11 and 10. In addition, Konstanzer and Kurtz dug up 10 and 11 balls respectively, while Stilwell posted a team-high three blocks.
HOT OFF THE BENCH
Jessica Hellmann came in off the bench to lead the Falcons with 22 assists during the 3-1 loss to TCU on Oct. 31. In addition to recording one of the team's two service aces, Hellmann connected on two of five kill opportunities. The 22 helpers vaulted Hellmann from 10th to eighth on the program's Division I single-season assist list (627 total).
IN THE ZONE
Grace Konstanzer had a stellar night against New Mexico on Oct. 29. The freshman put down kills at a team-leading clip of .294. Pacing the team with seven kills, the freshman committed just two errors on 17 attempts for the second-best single-match performance of her career when having at least 10 attempts.
SERVE IT UP
With Grace Konstanzer's service ace in the second set at home against New Mexico on Oct. 29, the Falcons tallied their 100th ace of the season. It is the 11th time since joining Division I in 1996 that they Falcons have surpassed the 100-ace plateau in a single season. The 2005 squad holds the DI record of 183.
