Volleyball Demonstrates Grit in Four-Set Win at Loyola Maryland

Friday, October 25

Baltimore, MD

7:00 PM

Army West Point

9-10,5-5Patriot

Loyola Maryland

6-13,4-6Patriot

Army West Point

Loyola Maryland

Volleyball Demonstrates Grit in Four-Set Win at Loyola Maryland

October 26, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Army West Point Volleyball took to the road once more in their 2024 campaign on Friday night as they traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to face the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. The host team claimed the first set 25-23 before the Black Knights hit their stride in the second set with a 26-24 win that they capitalized on for momentum to claim first the third frame 25-23 and then the match with their decisive 25-16 fourth set showing.

Match Recap
After the last meeting between Army and Loyola Maryland drew out to a five-set affair, Friday's match looked set to repeat the events of late September as the two immediately locked into a step-for-step battle from the first whistle.

The first frame progressed quickly as the two traded blows back and forth, remaining within three points of one another up through 21-17 in the Greyhounds' favor.

A 5-0 run from Loyola Maryland after a kill from junior outside hitter Chloe Murakami pushed Army to the lead saw Loyola Maryland to their four-point edge late in the first set.

The Black Knights continued to press back against the Greyhounds, chipping away at their lead with a pair of kills from Kingsley Wallace, a Murakami service ace, and a block from Wallace and freshman middle blocker Victoria Kasanganay bringing Army within one point of Loyola.

The Greyhounds drew the first set point opportunity of the match with a kill and despite a Kasanganay kill to hold off their first set point attempt, Loyola succeeded moments later with a latent kill.

Eager to turn their fortunes around, Army hit the ground running in the second frame, racking up a 5-1 lead in short order with kills and clocks aplenty from its roster.

The Black Knights maintained their lead with dogged determination as the match continued, holding at least a two-point edge over Loyola Maryland until the two drew tied once more at 19-19.

Kasanganay brought Army back into the lead with a quick kill in serve receive that Loyola's back row could not handle before the Greyhounds turned around and buried three kills in quick succession to earn their first lead of the set.

Freshman outside hitter Kealakai Bandy delivered Army an opportunity to cut the Greyhounds' lead with a decisive kill that saw the two squads draw tied at 22-22 moments later on an attacking error from the host team.

The Black Knights' fearsome grit reared its head then with a kill from Mackenzie Lynch, followed by a block from Lynch and middle blocker Tatum Grimes and another kill for Wallace pushed Army into position to claim the 26-24 victory.

With the two squads tied at a set apiece and the fresh taste of victory in mind, Army worked to repeat their second set success, jumping ahead to a 5-2 lead as the third frame began.

Loyola Maryland would not go quietly, however, and the host team pushed back into a brief 8-7 lead on a three-point run.

Lynch locked down on the Greyhounds' momentum with a rip of a kill to bring the two tied once more and to spark Army on a 7-3 run that saw a Kasanganay and Wallace block bring Army up to a 15-11 lead.

Army's lead stood through the remainder of the third frame as the Black Knights worked together to hold the Greyhounds back and earn the go-ahead set with a final kill from Tatum Grimes to clinch set three 25-23 for Army.

It was clear there would be no slowing of pace from Army's offense as the fourth frame got under way and Army broke into a 7-2 lead.

The Black Knights kept their foot on the gas, continuing to hammer Loyola's defense with kill after kill and halting the Greyhounds' offense in their tracks with seemingly endless blocks.

Army crossed the 20-point threshold the play after Loyola crossed the 10-point threshold as Mackenzie Lynch and Victoria Kasanganay denied the Greyhounds' middle hitter and extended Army's tenure in the lead of the set.

Pairs of kills for Juliette Myrick and Tatum Grimes brought Army to match point opportunity at 24-16 when an attacking error for the Greyhounds secured the Black Knights' four-set victory.

Black Knight Bullet Points

Despite the two teams entering the match evenly balanced, the Black Knights out-performed Loyola Maryland in most categories during the match. Army earned 74 points to Loyola's 59, 53 kills to their 51, a .167 hitting percentage to their .199, eight service aces to Loyola's seven, and 13.0 total blocks to their one.
The two major differentiations coming into the match were Army's edge in total blocks this season and the Greyhounds' edge in total service aces. Army led in both categories – slipping ahead on service aces eight to seven and unequivocally dominating in blocks with four solo blocks and 18 block assists for Army and only one solo block for Loyola Maryland in the contest.
Kingsley Wallace made a resurgence towards her earlier offensive dominance, posting a team-high and tied-for-match-second 12 kills.
Victoria Kasanganay clocked an Army-high .300 hitting percentage as a middle hitter for the Black Knights with five kills and just one error.
Chloe Murakami crossed the 200 kill threshold this season with her 11 kills in the match as well as crossing the 25-service ace mark with four in four sets of action to boast 26 total service aces thus far in the season.
Mackenzie Lynch and Nicole Stroud were a key point in Army's defense in the contest, collecting 25 and 24 digs respectively while three other Black Knights tallied double-digit digs – Juliette Myrick (16), Chloe Murakami (12), and Naomi Chinchar (12).

Coach's Corner
"We are incredibly proud of our team and how they played tonight," commented head coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "Loyola Maryland played great defense today – it was tough to find kills against a defense like that, but our team worked together to find our kills when we needed them. Our blocking and defensive game were both on top form tonight and we made it difficult for their top hitters to score. Our focus is on the present and our goal is always the next ball, next play, next set, and next match."

Up Next
The Black Knights will continue their road trip on Saturday, Oct. 27^th in Annapolis, Md. as they take on Navy at the Wesley Brown Fieldhouse at 7:00pm ET.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point women's volleyball, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_VB and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.