Army West Point Athletics
Sunday, September 6
West Point, NY
1 PM
Army West Point
4-2
3
vs
0
Cornell
2-1
1
2
3
F
Cornell
23
13
20
0
Army
25
25
25
3
Jaden Pickell was named the tournament's MVP
Volleyball Claims Invite Title
September 06, 2015 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point volleyball team swept Cornell, 3-0, to win the Black Knights Invitational in the final match on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena.
The Black Knights (4-2) hit 29.3 percent in the match with 38 kills on 99 attacks. The front line was impressive with 16 blocks. Jaden Pickell earned the tournament's most valuable player with another great effort this weekend. She finished off the invitational with 11 kills and 16 digs. Vanessa Edwards was named to the All-Tournament Team with 32 assists and nine digs on Sunday, while Vanessa Wesley was the third member to make the All-Tournament squad after a monster game yesterday against William & Mary.
Carolyn Bockrath was a force at the net for the Black Knights with six kills and seven total blocks, while Nicole Perri posted nine kills. Shannel Chong served the ball extremely well with four aces and helped Army close out the second set for 10-straight points.
"I am very proud of our team," head coach Alma Kovaci said. "Every time we stepped on the court we got better. I am very proud of their confidence on the court. They are very young group from last year to this year, so winning this tournament gives all of us confidence."
Cornell (2-1) was led by All-Tournament Team members Carla Sganderlla and Alyssa Phelps. Sganderlla posted 12 kills on 29 attempts, while Phelps put up 25 assists and added seven digs.
Army used a mid-set 7-1 run to build a big lead that got up to 18-11 in the opening set, but the Big Red used a 6-0 advantage late to push the Black Knights to the limit. However, Bockrath finished off the set with her second kill of the set to give the home team a 1-0 advantage in the match with a 25-23 win. Pickell was instrumental in the opening set with four kills and 10 digs, while Edwards had 12 assists. Bockrath helped Army early with three-consecutive blocks and ended the set with four.
The second set was back-and-forth through the first 18 points. The Black Knights found themselves down 9-8 and responded with a 7-2 run to take a 15-11 lead. Edwards added two aces and Pickell had two kills during the advantage. With Army up 15-13, the Black Knights reeled off 10 straight points to go up 2-0 in the match with a 25-13 win. Army was aided by five attack errors from the Big Red, while Chong posted an ace and Wesley, Nicole Perri and Olivia Fairfield each added kills.
The Black Knights sealed the deal in the third set by jumping out to an 11-point lead at 21-10. Perri had a couple of kills during a short 6-0 run to break it open. Cornell chipped away at the lead and got it down to 24-20, forcing Kovaci to call timeout. Out of the stoppage, Rachel Gearon connected on an Edwards set in the middle of the court and Cornell couldn't stop it and the Black Knights won with a 25-20 victory.
"We were consistent and we played great throughout the weekend," Edwards said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more and coming back to win yesterday and today's performance has given us confidence."
In the first match of the day, William & Mary defeated Iona by a 3-0 score. The Tribe won convincingly in the first two sets and held off a late charge by the Gaels to close out the tournament at 1-2, while Iona dropped all three matches.
The Black Knights are back at Christl Arena for a midweek matchup against Hudson Valley rival Marist on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m.
Tournament Results
Army 3, Iona 0
Cornell 3, Iona 0
Cornell 3, William & Mary 2
Army 3, William & Mary 2
William & Mary 3, Iona 0
Army 3, Cornell 0
Tournament Standings (point differential)
1. Army West Point 3-0 (+7)
2. Cornell 2-1 (+1)
3. William & Mary 1-2 (+1)
4. Iona 0-3 (-9)
Black Knights Invitational Most Valuable Player
Jaden Pickell, Army West Point
Black Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team
Amanda Gannon, Iona
Mallory Brickerd, William & Mary
Alyssa Phelps, Cornell
Carla Sganderlla, Cornell
Jaden Pickell, Army West Point
Vanessa Edwards, Army West Point
Vanessa Wesley, Army West Point
The Black Knights (4-2) hit 29.3 percent in the match with 38 kills on 99 attacks. The front line was impressive with 16 blocks. Jaden Pickell earned the tournament's most valuable player with another great effort this weekend. She finished off the invitational with 11 kills and 16 digs. Vanessa Edwards was named to the All-Tournament Team with 32 assists and nine digs on Sunday, while Vanessa Wesley was the third member to make the All-Tournament squad after a monster game yesterday against William & Mary.
Carolyn Bockrath was a force at the net for the Black Knights with six kills and seven total blocks, while Nicole Perri posted nine kills. Shannel Chong served the ball extremely well with four aces and helped Army close out the second set for 10-straight points.
"I am very proud of our team," head coach Alma Kovaci said. "Every time we stepped on the court we got better. I am very proud of their confidence on the court. They are very young group from last year to this year, so winning this tournament gives all of us confidence."
Cornell (2-1) was led by All-Tournament Team members Carla Sganderlla and Alyssa Phelps. Sganderlla posted 12 kills on 29 attempts, while Phelps put up 25 assists and added seven digs.
Army used a mid-set 7-1 run to build a big lead that got up to 18-11 in the opening set, but the Big Red used a 6-0 advantage late to push the Black Knights to the limit. However, Bockrath finished off the set with her second kill of the set to give the home team a 1-0 advantage in the match with a 25-23 win. Pickell was instrumental in the opening set with four kills and 10 digs, while Edwards had 12 assists. Bockrath helped Army early with three-consecutive blocks and ended the set with four.
The second set was back-and-forth through the first 18 points. The Black Knights found themselves down 9-8 and responded with a 7-2 run to take a 15-11 lead. Edwards added two aces and Pickell had two kills during the advantage. With Army up 15-13, the Black Knights reeled off 10 straight points to go up 2-0 in the match with a 25-13 win. Army was aided by five attack errors from the Big Red, while Chong posted an ace and Wesley, Nicole Perri and Olivia Fairfield each added kills.
The Black Knights sealed the deal in the third set by jumping out to an 11-point lead at 21-10. Perri had a couple of kills during a short 6-0 run to break it open. Cornell chipped away at the lead and got it down to 24-20, forcing Kovaci to call timeout. Out of the stoppage, Rachel Gearon connected on an Edwards set in the middle of the court and Cornell couldn't stop it and the Black Knights won with a 25-20 victory.
"We were consistent and we played great throughout the weekend," Edwards said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more and coming back to win yesterday and today's performance has given us confidence."
In the first match of the day, William & Mary defeated Iona by a 3-0 score. The Tribe won convincingly in the first two sets and held off a late charge by the Gaels to close out the tournament at 1-2, while Iona dropped all three matches.
The Black Knights are back at Christl Arena for a midweek matchup against Hudson Valley rival Marist on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m.
Tournament Results
Army 3, Iona 0
Cornell 3, Iona 0
Cornell 3, William & Mary 2
Army 3, William & Mary 2
William & Mary 3, Iona 0
Army 3, Cornell 0
Tournament Standings (point differential)
1. Army West Point 3-0 (+7)
2. Cornell 2-1 (+1)
3. William & Mary 1-2 (+1)
4. Iona 0-3 (-9)
Black Knights Invitational Most Valuable Player
Jaden Pickell, Army West Point
Black Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team
Amanda Gannon, Iona
Mallory Brickerd, William & Mary
Alyssa Phelps, Cornell
Carla Sganderlla, Cornell
Jaden Pickell, Army West Point
Vanessa Edwards, Army West Point
Vanessa Wesley, Army West Point
Team Stats
COR
ARMY
Kills
35
38
Errors
22
9
Attempts
116
99
Hitting %
.112
.293
Points
42.0
55.0
Assists
29
37
Aces
5
9
Blocks
2.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter/Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
/ VolleyballOutside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker/Right Side Hitter
/ VolleyballSummit Hospitality Tournament Recap
Friday, September 05