Volleyball Caps Off Alumni Weekend With a Sweep of Patriot League Leader Bucknell

Saturday, November 9

West Point, NY

4:00 PM

Army West Point

13-11,9-6Patriot

Bucknell

20-3,12-2Patriot

Bucknell

Army West Point

Volleyball Caps Off Alumni Weekend With a Sweep of Patriot League Leader Bucknell

November 09, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Volleyball ended their Alumni Weekend with a dominating performance over Patriot League-leading Bucknell. The Black Knights hit the ground running from the get-go and refused to give any quarter until they swept the Bison at Gillis Field House.

Match Recap
Army's squad shocked the number one team in the Patriot League as they exploded to a 5-1 lead, taking advantage of critical errors from the Bison to build a buffer that held them throughout the first frame.

Chloe Murakami and Tatum Grimes put away gritty kills for the Black Knights to extend their lead up to 9-7 as the action progressed. A trio of kills saw the Bison take a brief lead before Army turned the heat up once more with an 8-3 run that saw Army surge ahead to an 18-14 lead.

The Bison sought to challenge Army's pace with three straight points of their own, but Murakami teamed up with fellow Army outside hitter Mackenzie Lynch to put away three straight kills that took Army across the 20-point mark.

A well-placed kill from sophomore setter Juliette Myrick pulled Army within two points of clinching the first frame and a pair of ill-timed errors for the Bison sealed the first set in favor of the Black Knights at 25-22.

Murakami jumped right back on the attack as the second set began, burying a kill from the outside to spark Army towards a 3-1 lead in the second frame with Wallace notching a solo block against Bucknell's outside hitter to extend Army's advantage to 4-1.

The top team in the Patriot League bounced back, however, and put together a staggering 9-1 run that gave them a 10-5 lead over the Black Knights.

Having found such success over the visitors in the first frame, Army leapt back into the fray, cutting down the Bucknell lead with pairs of points that whittled the Bisons' advantage down to one point at 14-15 as Grimes and Lynch added kills to Army's total.

After the match reached a 19-16 advantage for Bucknell, the Black Knights regrouped on a timeout and forged a six-point run that pushed them past the Bison and up to a 22-20 lead with kills from four separate members of Army's front row.

Army's outside hitters, Lynch and Murakami, each sent kills blazing to the deep corners past Bucknell's defense to give Army a set point opportunity that Wallace and Grimes cashed in on with a block against Bucknell's outside hitter.

Feeling the wave of momentum building on their side of the net, Army earned a 6-1 lead before the Bison could gather themselves and bring things tied at 6-6.

The Black Knights steadily built their lead back up as the action continued with aggressive work from Army's pin hitters, cutting around the block and finding empty spaces in Bucknell's defense to keep Army ahead of the Bison through 13-12.

Bucknell challenged Army's resolve with a slate of quick kills and a service ace to take a 21-18 lead before Murakami set Army's offense ablaze once more.

Wallace answered Murakami's call with a kill of her own to bring the difference down to just one point. A 4-2 run for Army including two kills for Wallace and an ace for freshman libero Nicole Stroud put Army in match point territory.

The Bisons would fend off Army's first attempt and earn a set point chance of their own, but the Black Knights felt the energy at their backs and Wallace, Lynch, and Murakami combined for the kills Army needed to claim set three 28-26 and secure the squad's sweep over the top team in the Patriot League.

Black Knight Bullet Points

The Black Knights' consistency saw them to victory tonight as they tallied fewer kills than Bucknell (44 to 47) but remained more efficient on the attack with a .228 hitting percentage to the Bisons' .225. With a one ace edge over the visitors, it was Army's block that made the difference as the Black Knights tallied 15 overall blocks to Bucknell's eight.
Chloe Murakami led the match in kills with 15 total kills. Mackenzie Lynch and Kingsley Wallace added 12 and 11 kills of their own to Army's tally.
Wallace led the match in blocking, totaling six blocks with five block assists and a solo block in the contest.
Freshman libero Nicole Stroud recorded 13 digs over three sets of action, tied for the second highest total in the match and the most among the Black Knights. Juliette Myrick (11) and Lynch (10) joined her in the double-digit dig column.
Myrick was magic from the in-line, totaling four service aces in the match – twice the amount of Bucknell's leading server.

Coach's Corner
"We are very proud of our team," commented Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "Their mental resilience is on-point, and they are peaking at the right time. This team is developing and this team is having fun. I thought our serving was phenomenal today. We have to give credit to our team – they all did their jobs, and they all worked hard for this. The best is yet to come for this team."

Up Next
Army's squad will wrap up its regular season efforts on November 16^th as they face Lafayette for their Senior Day match at 4pm EST at Gillis Field House.

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.