Sept. 17, 2011

DAVIS, Calif. - Despite Ayesha Hein's match-leading hitting percentage of .450, the Air Force volleyball team closed out the 2011 tournament season with a 3-0 loss to Hofstra on Saturday, Sept. 17, during the final day of action at the Aggie Invitational in Davis, Calif. The Falcons fell in straight 25-20, 25-123, 25-19 sets.

Freshman Ayesha Hein paced all players with 10 kills, hitting .400 (10k-1e-20a) for the match. She also added a team-best three blocks, including a solo stop. Classmate Kristen Holt also hit at a strong clip, hitting.300 with four kills on 10 attempts, with just one error. Sophomore Cami Richan added five kills, while freshman Hillary Keltner added four. Sophomore Josalynn Wise, one of two Falcons to record a service ace, paced the Falcons with 13 assists, while junior Maiya Perich, who earned the other ace, posted a team-best 11 digs.

Air Force earned the first point of the match and the two squads traded points, with Hein tallying a kill and assisting on a block with Keltner. A kill from Richan helped even the score at six, while another Hein strike matched the score at eight. Hofstra scored the next four points (12-8), before a solo block by Hein stopped their run. Keltner and Richan helped pull the Falcons within one (13-12). Hofstra went up four, but kills from Holt, classmate Megan Clary and Bieber brought the score within one again (19-18). Keltner added one more kill, but a 5-1 run ended the set with a 25-20 win for Hofstra.

Hein put down a pair of kills, but Air Force quickly found itself in a 10-3 deficit. Holt and Richan put down back-to-back kills to stop a 5-0 Hofstra run, but the Pride extended its lead to 10 (16-6).Freshman Lizzy Carpenter put down a kill and Perich recorded a service ace, but Hofstra used another 5-0 run to go up 21-9. Hein and Keltner added kills, but the Pride took the set 25-13.

After Hofstra opened the third set with two points, Hein scored three of the Falcons' next four points, as Air Force tied the score at four. Air Force took a lead at the 6-5 mark, but Hofstra scored four straight points to retake a 9-7 advantage. A kill by Richan helped the Falcons even the score at nine. A kill from Clary was the Falcons' lone point, as the Pride took seven of the next eight scores to go up 16-10. Keltner, Hein, Richan, Carpenter and Holt added kills, but Hofstra completed the sweep with a 25-19 win.

Air Force opens Mountain West action next weekend, traveling to 19th-ranked Colorado State (Thursday, Sept. 22) and Wyoming (Saturday, Sept. 24).

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