Army Holds off Colgate in a Five-Set Thriller

Friday, October 29

West Point, NY

7 PM

Army West Point

15-6,9-3Patriot

Colgate

13-8,10-2Patriot

Colgate

Army West Point

Army Holds off Colgate in a Five-Set Thriller

October 29, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

MATCH 21
SCORE	Army 3, Colgate 2
RECORDS	Army (15-6, 9-3) \| Colgate (13-8, 10-2 )
LOCATION	Gillis Field House

WEST POINT, N.Y. --- Army West Point volleyball (15-6, 9-3) held off Colgate (13-8, 10-2 ) in a five-set thriller on Friday night at Gillis Field House.

The Black Knights' started the match slow allowing Colgate to take an early lead, but Cadets dug in and were able to force a fifth set before handing the Raiders a loss. The defense came alive during the match for the Black Knights as they finished with nine total blocks and 65 digs led by Sayler Butters with 26 digs. Multiple Cadets contributed to the block, but it was Emmy Barnhorst who led the team with four block assists.

The offense was led by Paige Fixemer who notched a season high of 19 kills with a .433 clip to go along with three blocks and three digs. Kingsley Wallace play a big role in tonight's win, helping on both sides of the ball with 10 kills and three blocks. Diana Etheridge and Isabella Sullivan helped set the Black Knights' offense up recording 33 and 15 assists, respectively.

How It Happened

Army had a slow open to set one, trailing 12-8 at the first timeout. Allanah Cutler and Fixemer fought at the net to keep Colgate in reach, each throwing down kills to get within two of the Raiders (15-13). Late in the set, Army found its groove with help from Cutler who fired off two kills to cut Colgate's lead to 21-18. Ultimately, Colgate won the set 25-20. Fixemer finished the set with five kills on a .429 hitting clip while the team finished with 14 kills and a .303 hitting percentage.

The Black Knights started the set strong, lead 15-12 at the media timeout. Colgate bounced back, taking advantage of Army's errors to snatch the lead (20-18). Fixemer threw down a kill to ignite a 4-0 scoring run for the Black Knights (23-21). Cutler was able to take care of business, firing off the final two kills to give Army the 25-23 win over Colgate. Army finished with one solo block and four block assists to help keep the Raiders to a .087 hitting percentage during the set.

Army came out hot at the start of the set but made mistakes that allowed Colgate take the lead (13-10). Errors continued to get the best of the Cadets, giving the Raiders the advantage on service. Army fell 25-10 to Colgate.

The Cadets jumped out in front early, leading 11-7 at the first timeout. Wallace came alive for the Black Knights, recording two kills out of the gate. With Colgate on their heels, Army ignited a 4-0 scoring run highlighted by a powerful block from Cutler and Fixemer (16-8). Barnhorst and Fixemer took turns firing off kills for the offense, finishing with five and seven kills, respectively. Colgate fought back cutting Army's lead to 23-18. A block assist from Cutler and Fixemer pushed Army to the 25-18 win forcing a fifth set. The Black Knights finished with 17 kills on a .467 hitting clip to go along with six block assists.

Army came out hot from the jump taking a nice 5-0 lead. The Cadets made errors that gave Colgate the opportunity to fight back to get within one (6-5). The teams went back-and-forth trading points before Army broke the patterns with a 3-0 scoring run (10-7), highlighted by two blocks from the Black Knights. Fixemer recorded two consecutive kills that secured the 15-10 win for Army to take the set 3-2.

Inside the Box Score

Mackenzie Karnig racked up three service aces.
Sayler Butters recorded her ninth match with 20-plus digs.
Paige Fixemer recorded a season-high for kills (19)

Coach's Corner
"The team fought tooth and nail to get this win against a very good and well coached team. I am proud of our grit, perseverance and pure will to not be defeated. There was a lot of growth in that match, as coaches we are proud of our team. Sayler (Butters) and Paige (Fixemer) played incredible. We made some changes, Kingsley (Wallace) and Isabella (Sullivan) responded with so much maturity. Very proud of our win today, it was a great team win!" - head coach Alma Kovaci Lee

Cadets' Corner
"I love that we all rallied around each other tonight to pull off a win against a good team. I am so proud of the growth we've had this season and can not wait to finish out strong." - Paige Fixemer

Up Next
Army travels to Worcester, Mass. to battles Holy Cross on Sunday, Oct. 31. The match will tipoff at 2 p.m.