Air Force volleyball set for weekend invitational

  • Published
  • By Valerie Perkin
  • Athletic Communications
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Fresh off its best start to a season in 10 years, the Air Force volleyball team travels up Interstate 25 for the Denver Invitational Sept. 4-5. 

The Falcons will face local host Denver, in addition to West Virginia, Southern Utah and Eastern Illinois. 

All matches will be played at Hamilton Gym on the campus of the University of Denver. Live stats will be available for each match. 

Air Force opens the invitational Sept. 4, against host team Denver at 1 p.m. The Falcons will also play West Virginia during the first day of action. Air Force will face Southern Utah Sept. 5 at 11 a.m., before returning to the court at 5 p.m., to conclude tournament play against Eastern Illinois. 

The Falcons hold winning records against three of this weekend's opponents and have never faced the fourth in West Virginia. Although many of the matches occurred during the Division-II era, Air Force is 32-9 all-time against Denver. The Falcons also hold a Division II record of 2-0 against Southern Utah. However, the last time the two programs competed against one another was during the 1980 season, as the Thunderbirds haven't fielded a volleyball team for the last 20 years. Air Force holds a 2-0 mark against Eastern Illinois, most recently a 3-2 victory over the Panthers in 2003. 

West Virginia is the only opponent entering this weekend with a winning record at 2-1. Southern Utah and Eastern Illinois both split the opening weekend of play at 2-2, while host Denver is 0-3 on the year. The Mountaineers opened the season with a loss to Oakland but responded with sweeps over Towson and Saint Francis. The Panthers defeated Kent State and IPFW, before falling to Butler and Drake. The Thunderbirds claimed victories over Delaware State and Texas Pan American, while falling to Sam Houston State and Louisiana-Lafayette. The Pioneers had a tough opening weekend, falling to Notre Dame, LSU and fifth-ranked Stanford. 

Air Force's 3-1 season-opening weekend is the best start to a season since 1999. The season, the Falcons defeated Mississippi, Eastern Illinois and Fordham, before falling in four to Colorado. The Falcons went on to tally a 17-12 overall mark that year. 

Three of the Falcons' matches this weekend will be broadcast live on KAFA 97.7 FM, the Academy's cadet-run radio station. Fans can tune in to listen to the West Virginia, Southern Utah and Eastern Illinois matches. A link to the KAFA site can also be found on GoAirForceFalcons.com.