'Dogs suffer defeat in four sets at Air Force

Thursday, October 17

USAF Academy, CO

5:30 PM PT

Fresno State

11-9, 4-4MW

Air Force

6-13, 3-4MW

Fresno State

Air Force

Photo by: Keith Kountz

'Dogs suffer defeat in four sets at Air Force

10/17/2019 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Travis Blanshan / Assistant Director of Communications

USAFA, Colo. - The Fresno State volleyball team fell in four sets on the road at Air Force on Thursday evening in the Cadet East Gym.

Fresno State (11-9, 4-4 MW), who completed a run of four matches in eight days, fell 25-18 in the first set, won the second set, 25-21 before suffering setbacks in the third and fourth sets falling 25-16 and 25-17.

Leading the way offensively for the Bulldogs was junior outside hitter Desiree Sukhov who tallied her 16th double-digit kill performance of the season finishing with a team-high 15 in the contest. The Murrieta, Calif., native added two service aces, two digs and two block assists.

Freshman outside hitter Amilya Thompson added 10 kills, her eighth match of the season with double-digit kills, while only committing two errors for a .333 hitting percentage.

Senior setter Madelyn Halteman accounted for 29 assists while junior libero Reagan Leonard had a team-high 11 digs.

Air Force (6-13, 3-4 MW) was able to hold a .291 to .099 advantage in hitting percentage getting a match-high 18 kills from Bailey Keith.

How It Happened
The opening set saw the Bulldogs jump out to a 9-5 lead after a kill by Sukhov, but a 6-0 run by the Falcons gave Air Force a two-point advantage and a lead they would not relinquish. An attack error by the Falcons briefly got the 'Dogs back within a pair at 13-11, but a 12-7 run by Air Force closed out the set for a 25-18 win.

Fresno State started to find its rhythm in the second set taking a 8-7 lead after a kill by Suhov. With the set knotted at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, the Bulldogs finally found some separation with a kill by Sukhov & a Falcon attack error. Two more points for the 'Dogs gave them a 23-19 lead as a kill by Amaria Kelley and a Air Force attack error gave the 'Dogs a 25-21 win in set two.

With the match tied at 1-1, the Falcons took the early lead in the pivotal third set at 10-5. The 'Dogs responded with the next three points and got within one at 13-12 after a Halteman ace. That would be as close as they would get as the Falcons finished the set on a 11-4 run winning 25-16.

Looking to force a decisive fifth set, the 'Dogs fell behind early in the fourth set tying the set at 3-3 and kept it within reach at 11-9 after block assists by Halteman and freshman middle blocker Grace Doyle. A 9-6 run by the Falcons pushed the home team's lead to 20-15 as the Falcons claimed five of the final seven points for a 25-17 win to close out the match.

Notes

Fresno State falls to 1-6 at Air Force since moving to the Mountain West in 2012.
The 'Dogs drop to 2-7 when losing the first set and 2-5 on the road.
The Bulldogs held a 9-6 edge in service aces.
Doyle matched her season high with three aces.

Up next
The Bulldogs return home next week to host Utah State (2-17, 2-5 MW) next Thursday at 6 p.m. and Boise State (12-6, 4-3 MW) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Save Mart Center.

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