Black Knights Split First Day of Classic

Friday, September 10

Queens, NY

2 PM

Army West Point

5-2,0-0Patriot

Boston College

8-0,0-0ACC

Boston College

Army West Point

Black Knights Split First Day of Classic

September 10, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MATCH 7 & 8
SCORE	Army 1 , BC 3 Army 3, Fordham 2
RECORDS	Army (6-2,0-0 PL) BC (8-1, 0-0 ACC) Fordham (2-6, 0-0 A-10)
LOCATION	Queens, NY
INVITATIONAL	Jack Kaiser Classic

QUEENS, N.Y. --- Army West Point volleyball split the first day of the Jack Kaiser Classic on Friday, dropping the first match 3-1 to Boston College but bounced back to claim a five-set win over Fordham.

Cate Buckingham was a force at the net all day for the Cadets recording 16 kills against the Eagles and followed with 17 against Fordham. Diana Ethridge finished the day with 53 assists, recording a double-double against Fordham. Savannah Bray tabbed her first double-double of the season in the victory over Fordham with 11 kills and 12 digs.

MATCH 1

Army battled in their first match of the day against Boston College, who headed into the weekend with a 7-0 record, but ultimately fell 3-1 to the Eagles. Three Cadets left the court with double-digit kills which was led by Buckingham recording16 kills with a .350 hitting percentage, followed by Bray with 12 and Kingsley Wallace with 10. Ethridge finished with 31 assists and one service ace.

Riley Parchment recorded her sixth match of the season with a service ace as she had two for the Black Knights.

It was a trading of errors from the start, but Boston College quickly jumped to a 9-5 lead. The Cadets came back in the first set getting the score to 18-19 but ended up falling 20-25 to the Eagles. Paige Fixemer led the Cadets with three kills. Army was able to keep the Eagles to a .143 hitting percentage, giving up 14 kills but made errors that cost them the set.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle as the teams traded turns in the lead. Army jumped ahead, capitalizing on errors made by the Eagles, to win the set 25-22. Buckingham and Bray played key roles in Black Knights win each recording five kills. The team made improvements to the offense to finished with a .394 hitting percentage.

In the third set, Army fell behind making errors that allowed Boston College to extend their lead. The Cadets fought back but ended up dropping the set 16-25 to the Eagles. Buckingham worked to keep the Black Knights in the set with her seven kills on a .357 clip.

Army took the lead in the beginning of the fourth set, but Boston College did not go down easy. The Eagles tok advantage of momentum and errors by the Cadets to take a18-13 lead forcing Army into a timeout. The Cadets fought back but could not keep the Eagles from securing set and match point. Bray led the Cadets with four kills while Wallace and Buckingham recorded three.

MATCH 2

Three Cadets recorded double-digit kills while two tabbed double-doubles in the five-set win over the Rams. Buckingham led the way with a season-high of 17 kills on a .333 clip while Fixemer had 13 and Bray had 11. Bray tabbed 12 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Ethridge notched her second double-double of the year with 42 assists and 12 digs. Sayler Butters played a huge part in the team's defense as she finished with 29 digs.

Army had control of the set from the start going on a 7-0 run to lead 9-4, capitalizing on Fordham's errors. Th Cadets kept the momentum going to push their lead to 15-7 forcing Fordham into a timeout. Army took the first set 25-14 with a .452 hitting percentage. Fixemer and Buckingham each recorded four kills for the Cadets, while Fixemer also added on two blocks.

The teams traded points to start the second set but Army jumped to a 13-12 lead to force a Fordham timeout. Out of the timeout, Buckingham threw down a kill to get Army on a run. The Rams fought back but the Black Knights claimed the second set 25-22. Buckingham led the team with six kills while Fixemer played a big defensive role with two blocks. Army held the Rams to a .225 hitting percentage.

Fordham jumped out in front first and never gave up their lead. Army fought back with help from Bray and Buckingham but made errors that allowed Fordham to extend their lead. Fordham took the set 25-19 to cut Army's lead to 2-1.

Fordham's momentum from set three carried over into the fourth set pushing them to an early lead over the Cadets, 12-8. The Black Knights got it within two but attacking errors hurt them. The Rams clenched the set, 25-18, forcing the match into a fifth set. Fixemer finished the set with five kills and one solo block.

Fordham took the first lead of the set, but Army claimed it and never gave it back. Fordham made attacking errors that helped increased Army's lead to 7-3 forcing the Rams into a timeout. Fordham started to climb back, but a block from Ethridge and Fixemer shut the Rams down. Buckingham recorded a kill to push Army to set point, 15-13, and clench the match 3-2.

COACH'S CORNER
"Today was definitely a day where we learned to grind," said head coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "We learned how to play every point like it is our last. We are a young team with so much potential. I was glad to see people step up in today's matches. Boston College and Fordham are very good teams and I am proud of how we fought in both matches."

THE CADETS' CORNER
" I thought the team did a really great job in the fifth set (against Fordham) and playing gritty to get the job done. We came together as a team and worked hard until the last point." - Cate Buckingham

"Today was all about learning how to dig deep and play for one another, it's truly inspiring to see how much we can do together when we decide to leave it all out on the court. Now it's just time to take that energy into tomorrow!" - Sayler Butters

INSIDE THE NUMBERS