Volleyball Drops Four-Setter to Bucknell

Saturday, September 21

Lewisburg, PA

4:00 PM

Army West Point

4-7,0-2Patriot

Bucknell

10-1,2-0Patriot

Army West Point

Bucknell

Volleyball Drops Four-Setter to Bucknell

September 21, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Army volleyball continued their opening weekend of Patriot League play in Lewisburg, Pa. as they remained in the Keystone State for the second match of the weekend. The Bison grabbed a two-set lead in the match before the Black Knights fought back with a set win of their own, but the home team put the hammer down and claimed a 25-22 win in the fourth set to clinch the match.

The Black Knights led the match in solo blocks (3) and total blocks (12.0) but the Bison dominated in every other team category from start to finish.

Kingsley Wallace led the match in individual kills, however, posting a match-high 15 kills and .414 hitting percentage. Tatum Grimes posted the second-highest individual blocking total of the match with 3.5 total blocks in the match, highlighted by one solo block.

Match Recap
Army's squad set off at a quick pace in the first set, looking for their first Patriot League win of the season as they took a 6-1 lead in the first frame.

The Black Knights kept the pressure high, expanding to a six-point lead at 12-6, holding their edge up to a 21-18 advantage after a solo block from Chloe Murakami on the outside.

Bucknell put their foot down after that and went on a seven-point run to claim the first set 25-21.

Army looked to turn things around in the second frame, fighting the Bison step-for-step for the lead, grabbing the lead at 4-3 with an ace from Norah Shattan.

Bucknell pushed back into the lead with a series of runs, most notably a 6-1 run in the middle of the set to go from a 12-10 differential to a 17-11 lead.

Army chipped away at the gap, but the Bison ran away with the second frame for a 25-18 win and 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Black Knights would not give in, however, and battled point for point with the Bison in the third set, finally edging ahead with kills from Murakami and Juliette Myrick to move up to a 10-8 lead.

The two teams continued to tussle over the lead in the set until another set of kills from Murakami and Myrick pushed Army ahead 21-19.

Bucknell evened things up 22-22 but the Black Knights pulled together and claimed the third set 25-22 with a kill from Murakami followed by a pair of back-to-back kills from senior Kingsley Wallace.

The Bison hit the court running in the fourth frame, punching ahead to a 13-7 lead and holding the lead for the remainder of the set, fending off the Black Knights and a slate of late kills from Murakami to clinch the match with their 25-22 win in the fourth.

Black Knight Bullet Points

Kingsley Wallace led the Black Knights' offense for the tenth time this season with 15 kills and .414 hitting percentage over four sets.
Chloe Murakami delivered for Army's offense as well, posting 14 kills on a .200 hitting percentage.
Three Black Knights tallied solo blocks in the contest – Murakami, Wallace, and Tatum Grimes.
Grimes' solo block in the contest marks her sixth straight match for the Black Knights with at least one solo block.
Mackenzie Lynch led Army's defense in digs with 13 over the four sets, her sixth time leading the Black Knights in digs this season.

Coach's Corner
"We have to give credit to Bucknell," said Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "The first set looked like it would be ours as we led up until the end where the experience on Bucknell's roster came through for them. We fought and played tough in the last two sets. We will regroup, work on our game this week, and come back stronger on our home court against Navy on Friday."

Up Next
Army returns to their home court in Gillis Field House on Friday, Sept. 27^th for their annual Star Match as part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The two squads will kick things off at 4:00pm 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.