Volleyball Grapples with Greyhounds, Falls Short in Fifth Set

Saturday, September 28

West Point, NY

4:00 PM

Army West Point

5-8,1-3Patriot

Loyola Maryland

5-8,3-1Patriot

Loyola Maryland

Army West Point

Volleyball Grapples with Greyhounds, Falls Short in Fifth Set

September 29, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army Volleyball welcomed its second Patriot League opponent of the weekend to Gillis Field House on Saturday as the Black Knights faced off with the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. The two squads were well matched and traded blows throughout the first four sets of action, but the Greyhounds found their groove in the fifth set to claim the 3-2 win.

The Black Knights and the Greyhounds matched each other step for step as Army posted 65 kills to Loyola's 64, 63 assists to the Greyhounds' 61, and 77 digs to the visitors' 84. Army owned the blocking game, however, with 12.00 blocks to Loyola's 6.00 while the Greyhounds controlled the match from the serving line with seven aces to Army's four.

Even the top offensive and defensive performers of the match were neck-and-neck as Kingsley Wallace put up a career-high 22 kills (.373) while Loyola's Lauren Link recorded 21 kills (.268) of her own. Nicole Stroud led the match in digs with a career-best 23 digs and Loyola libero Leah Hunter was right there with her as she scooped up 22 digs of her own.

Match Recap
The two teams challenged each other right out of the gate, drawing tied 14 times throughout the first set.

After a drawn-out battle against fellow Patriot League foe Navy the night before, the Black Knights spread their offense out across their lineup to share the load and senior right-side hitter Kingsley Wallace continued to demonstrate her offensive acuity as she led the match in kills for the first frame.

Wallace posted 10 kills on 15 total attempts with zero errors for a .667 hitting percentage – twice the number of kills of any player in the match in the opening set.

With neither team opening up more than a three point lead during the set, it was a power struggle down to the final whitely as Wallace put up a trio of kills with a service ace from freshman setter Naomi Chinchar to offset a pair of Greyhound kills and clinch the first set 25-22.

The second set continued in much a similar, contentious fashion. Feeling the momentum from winning the first set, the Black Knights quickly opened up a 4-1 lead with a block from Victoria Filippova and Kingsley Wallace followed by kills from Chloe Murakami and Mackenzie Lynch and a service ace from Murakami.

The Greyhounds dug their heels in and brought the match tied at 10-10 before taking the lead three points later. Army's squad was not deterred however, and retook the lead with a three point run of their own off of a Wallace kill and back-to-back blocks from Tatum Grimes and Lynch.

The Black Knights held the lead up to 19-16 until Loyola put together a 8-1 run to earn their first set point opportunity of the match. A kill from Lynch and solo block from Grimes brought Army just two points away from the Greyhounds, but the visitors put away their 18^th kill of the set to clinch the seconds frame and bring the match tied at 1-1 all.

Much like the first two sets, the two teams locked in a tight battle to set three, but the Black Knights kicked things into a higher gear, pulling away midway through the action with a 6-1 run and an 8-1 run to take a decisive 23-15 lead.

Loyola would not go quietly, however, and forged ahead to a 13-6 lead, maintaining their lead throughout the remainder of the set.

The Black Knights made a late push, drawing within one point of the Greyhounds at 21-22 with a block from Wallace and Breelyn Bender, but the Greyounds held their nerve and sent the match to a tiebreak set with the 25-23 win in set four.

The Greyhounds jumped into the lead with a 7-2 run to open the scoring and maintained that aggressive pressure throughout the remainder of the set.

Army's offense looked for opportunities to turn the tide, but Loyola's team ran away with the final frame, claiming the win with a 15-8 final score in the fifth set.

Black Knight Bullet Points

The two teams seemed incredibly evenly matched coming into the contest and showed that comparability in the statistics. The Black Knights posted 65 kills to Loyola's 64, delivered 63 assists to the Greyhounds' 61, and picked up 77 digs to the visitors' 84.
The Black Knights owned the blocking game with 12.00 blocks to Loyola's 6.00 while the Greyhounds controlled the match from the serving line with seven aces to Army's four.
Even the top offensive and defensive performers of the match were neck-and-neck as Kingsley Wallace put up a career-high 22 kills (.373) while Loyola's Lauren Link recorded 21 kills (.268) of her own. Nicole Stroud led the match in digs with a career-best 23 digs while Loyola libero Leah Hunter scooped up 22 digs of her own.
Mackenzie Lynch and Chloe Murakami joined Wallace in the double-digit kills column with 12 and 11 respectively.
Juliette Myrick was once more dogging the triple-double doorstep, collecting a career-high 39 assists, 14 digs, and nine kills over five sets of action.
Both squads saw four team members post double-digit digs with Stroud (23), Lynch (14), Myrick (14), and Murakami (13) representing the Black Knights in the dig column.
Tatum Grimes continued her impressive blocking display for Army as she recorded a match-high eight total blocks with seven block assists and a solo block. She now stands tied for 21^st in the nation in solo blocks and tied for 19^th in the nation in total blocks.

Coach's Corner
"We have to give credit to Loyola, they played a really good game and are a very experienced team this year," said Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "They have possibly the best outside hitter in the Patriot League who ranks first in kills per game and she showed that tonight. As a graduate student, the experience she brings to their roster definitely played a role tonight. When it mattered, she got the ball and she scored."

"We played tough tonight, but we ran out of gas at the end," Kovaci Lee continued. "Last night's match against Navy was really emotional but I'm really proud of the team for our fight tonight. We need to continue to learn how to sustain our higher level of play for longer periods of time. I think when we do that, we are going to be a very tough team to beat."

"There were moments there tonight where we could have won it, but I think Loyola's experience came in handy there," Kovaci Lee concluded. "That being said, we worked hard and fought all five sets, and we look forward to seeing them again."

Up Next
The Black Knights will welcome two more Patriot League opponents to West Point, N.Y. next week, beginning with Holy Cross on Saturday, Oct. 5^th at 4pm 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.