Air Force Academy

Nov. 5, 2003

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COMING UP: The Falcons take to the court at Cadet East Gymnasium for the final time this season, as they host San Diego State (Fri., Nov. 7) and UNLV (Sat., Nov. 8) in Mountain West Conference action. The first serve is slated for 7 p.m., both nights.

SENIOR SALUTE: This weekend, the Falcons will honor seniors Delavane Diaz, Brittany Edmonds and Kristin Huitt, who are playing their final games at the Cadet East Gym.

TEAM (2003/MWC)
Air Force (13-11/3-7)
San Diego State (14-11/5-5)
UNLV (10-13/3-7)

AIR FORCE vs. SDSU: The Falcons are 1-12 all-time against the Aztecs, most recently dropping a 3-0 match in San Diego on Oct. 11. Except for a 3-1 Air Force victory in 1999, the Falcons have not won a game in the 13-match series.

SCOUTING THE AZTECS: San Diego State is 14-11 on the season and 5-5 in Mountain West play. SDSU swept Wyoming on Saturday, after falling 3-2 to No. 16 Colorado State on Friday night. They became the only MWC team to take the Rams to five games - and just the third squad all season. The Aztecs lead the league in blocking, averaging 3.14 blocks per game.

SDSU PLAYERS TO WATCH: Megan Schauermann, who hit .867 against the Falcons on Oct. 11, leads the conference in blocks, averaging 1.56 per game. Aspen McPartland posts the highest average of kills per game on the team, with 3.84. Teammate Kara Moriarty averages 3.14 kpg, while leading the Aztecs in digs with 2.23 per game. Sara Engstrom averages 11.78 assists per game.

AIR FORCE vs. UNLV: The Falcons have defeated the Rebels just twice in the 15-match series. Air Force posted a 3-1 win over UNLV in 1996 and again in 1999. In fact, AFA has taken the Rebels to four-games six times during the series and took them to five on Oct. 9.

SCOUTING THE REBELS: With an overall record of 10-13, UNLV is tied with Air Force in Mountain West play with a 3-7 mark. The Rebels swept Wyoming on Thursday, before falling in four games to No. 16 Colorado State. UNLV hit .448 against the Cowgirls (60k-13e-105a), including a .559 in the final game. The Rebels followed that up with a .680 (19k-2a-25a) in the third game of their loss to the Rams.

UNLV PLAYERS TO WATCH: Lelana Oswald is averaging 4.01 kills per game to lead the team and rank third in the MWC. She is also second on the team in digs (2.20 per game), behind teammate Nina Franchini (2.32 dpg). Nicki King holds an 11.82 assists per game average and Sheila Ocasic-Clemente has 12 solo blocks to lead the Rebels with a 1.11 blocks per game average.

HAVEN'T WE SEEN YOU BEFORE?: The Falcons dropped a pair of road contests to San Diego State and UNLV in early October. Air Force squandered a 2-1 lead to fall to the Rebels in five. Two nights later, the Aztecs handed the Falcons a 3-0 loss.

PERFECT: Rebecca Gallegos hit a perfect 1.000 against the Cougars on Nov. 1, posting two kills on two attacks.

HELLO, MY NAME IS: Freshman Brittany Oligney made her Mountain West Conference debut in the third game of the Falcons' loss at Utah on Oct. 1. She registered two of the seven kills that Air Force posted in the final game.

MARKING UP THE RECORD BOOK: Delavane Diaz hit seven service aces in the Falcons' 3-1 victory over Denver on Oct. 21. Her seven aces set a new program Division I record for aces in a game. The previous record was six, which was set last season by Tiffany Bishop against UNLV.

ACES WILD: Along with Delavane Diaz's seven service aces, Rebecca Gallegos, Kristin Hamlett and Carly Siefken each tallied a pair in the Falcons' win over Denver. The 13 aces is a new Division I single-match record for the Falcons, besting the previous DI record of 12.

OH, WHAT A NIGHT!: The Falcons held Denver to just 11 points in the fourth game on Oct. 21, the fewest points scored by an opponent this season. The previous record had been 12, which the Falcons allowed Georgia State in the fifth game of a 3-2 Air Force win.

BY A LONG SHOT: In games that went to 30 points, the previous opponent low had been 16. The Falcons defeated Marist 30-16 in the first game of the Aug. 30 match. (Air Force also defeated New Mexico 30-16 in the first game on Oct. 24).

HOME SWEET HOME: With the defeat of Denver on Oct. 21, the Falcons went a perfect 4-0 against non-conference opponents at Cadet East Gym this season.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Air Force's 3-0 win over New Mexico on Oct. 24, in Albuquerque, marks the first conference road win for AFA since the Falcons upset BYU 3-1 last season in Provo (Oct. 4, 2002). In fact, it was just the Falcons second conference road win since 2000.

HEY, SHORTY: At just five-feet, six-inches, Kristin Huitt is the shortest setter in the Mountain West Conference. Yet, that has not stopped her from being one of the league leaders in assists. Huitt currently ranks second in the conference, averaging 11.99 helpers per game.

SERVING UP: When it comes to service aces, Air Force boasts two of the top four servers in the conference. Carly Seifken leads the league with a 0.53 aces per game average, while Delavane Diaz is ranked fourth, averaging 0.41 aces.

SERVING UP SOME MORE STATS: Carly Siefken has served an astounding 41 aces this season to lead the Mountain West Conference. That is five more than Colorado State's Melissa Courtney, who is ranked second in the conference with 36. Only three other players in the league (including Delavane Diaz with 35) have over 30 services aces on the season.

A NOTEWORTHY NUMBER: Air Force has defeated 10 non-conference opponents this year, for a record of 10-4. The 10 non-conference wins ranks second at the program's Division I level. The Falcons' Division I record for non-conference wins is 12, which was set in 1999.

WHAT A SEASON: When the Falcons defeated New Mexico (3-0) on Oct. 24, it brought the team's conference record to 3-5. It is the team's best conference record since 1999, when Air Force finished the season at 5-9. That season, Air Force finished fourth in the confernece. The Falcons, who are currently tied for fifth, have four matches remaining in the 2003 campaign.

NOT MISSING A STEP: Molly White is the only Falcon to have played in all 86 games this season. Kristin Hamlett, Delavane Diaz, Lamecca Jefferson, Kristin Huitt and Jenalee Burke have seen action in 85 games. Brittany Edmonds and Carly Seifken have seen significant playing time in 79 and 78 games, respectively.

LEADING THE WAY: Delavane Diaz leads the Mountain West Conference in kills (4.86 kpg) and points (5.42 ppg), while Carly Siefken is first in the league in service aces (0.53). Kristin Huitt is second in the conference in assists, with an average of 11.99 per game.

SERVING IT UP: As a team, the Falcons lead the conference in service aces, with an average of 1.93 aces per game.

MARK YOUR CALENDERS: The Falcons take to the road for the final weekend of the regular season. Air Force will travel to Colorado State on Friday, Nov. 14, to take on the Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., before traveling to Laramie, Wyo., on Saturday, Nov. 15, to face the Cowgirls of Wyoming. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m. Upcoming: The MWC championships will be held Nov. 20-22 in San Diego, Calif.