Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Holy Cross
Volleyball Begins October with Road Trip to Holy Cross, Colgate
October 02, 2025 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point volleyball (9-4, 3-1) hits the road to begin the month of October, opening the month with two road matches against the Holy Cross Crusaders (5-12, 0-4) and the Colgate Raiders (9-5, 4-0).
First, the Black Knights head east to Worcester, Mass., on Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. ET to take on the Holy Cross. Last season, the Black Knights swept the season series with the Crusaders and have not lost a game against Holy Cross since March 12, 2021.
Then, Army makes the drive to upstate New York on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. ET for a 2024 Patriot League Championship rematch in Hamilton against Colgate. The two teams split the season series in 2024, then the fourth-seeded Black Knights played the top-seeded Raiders in Hamilton for the championship, where Army ultimately fell in five sets.
For fans who can't make it to either road match, both matches will stream live on ESPN+.
ARMY STORYLINES:
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND: The Black Knights finished 2-0 in their home stand last week, improving their Patriot League record to 3-1 for the No. 3 spot in the league as it currently stands. The Army team achieved this by defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Friday, 3-1, and the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday, 3-0, marking their first sweep in league play.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chloe Murakami earned the first Patriot League Weekly Award for the Black Knights in 2025, being named Patriot League Player of the Week. She led Army's attack to a 2-0 weekend against Lehigh and Lafayette, posting a team-high 30 kills and 4.29 kills per set, averaging a .243 hitting percentage, and added 12 digs plus three blocks.
MEET THE LYNCH-PIN: Senior outside hitter Mackenzie Lynch serves as the primary driving force of not only Army's attack, but also in all aspects on the floor. The senior has had 10+ kills in 11 of Army's 13 games this season, including a season-high 20 kills against Green Bay. Currently, she leads the team in kills (175), kills per set (3.43), points (199.0) and points per set (3.90). She also added 148 digs, 27 blocks and 10 service aces.
PROLIFIC PLAYMAKER: Junior Juliette Myrick serves as the primary playmaker for Army. She leads the team with 337 assists so far this season, averaging 6.88 a set. In six games this season, Myrick finished with 30+ assists. On Sept. 7 against Binghamton, she surpassed the 1,000 all-time career assists mark. She earned her second triple-double with 29 assists, 10 kills and 13 digs at Navy on Friday. She tallied a season-high 38 assists against Bryant Sept. 13.
THE RISE OF PARKER: Michelle Parker has quickly risen as an impact player in the middle for the Black Knights. She earned career-high 10 kills, .600 hitting percentage, and 13.5 points at Navy. Parker also leads the team with a .364 hitting percentage and is second with 34.0 total blocks and is third on the team with 0.89 blocks per set.
KASANGANAY ON THE WAY: Alongside Parker, Victoria Kasanganay balanced out the middle attack and block for Army last week. The sophomore middle blocker earned a career-high nine kills and a season-high .417 hitting percentage against Lafayette last week, alongside finishing with four total blocks last weekend. She has finished with three or more blocks in three games this season.
HAVE A DAY, NAOMI!: Sophomore Naomi Chinchar, the second half of Army's offensive distribution, had a career afternoon against Lafayette. The setter finished the day leading the offense with a career-high 30 assists with two kills and one block. She also averages 4.06 assists per set in 2025.
DIGGING DEEP ON DEFENSE: Army is one of the top teams in the country in defending its back line. The Black Knights currently average 16.14 digs a set, which sits as the 29th-best mark in NCAA Div. I, above schools including Texas, TCU, Louisville, Creighton, Pitt, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Annette Lee and Mackenzie Lynch lead the passing efforts, with the two having 161 digs (3.58 per set) and 148 digs (2.90 per set), respectively. Three other Black Knights are over 100 digs this season, including Juliette Myrick (124), Naomi Chinchar (121) and Chloe Murakami (116).
History with Holy Cross
- The Black Knights lead the series, 69-7
- Current Streak: Army, 12 wins
- Last Army win: Nov. 2, 2024, 3-0
- Last Holy Cross win: March 12, 2021, 3-1
Scouting the Crusaders
- Holy Cross holds a 5-12 overall record and is 0-4 in Patriot League play and currently sits at the bottom of the Patriot League standings.
- Head coach Matt Cribbin is in his first season in Worcester, previously posting a 238-142 record after coaching at American International for 13 seasons.
- This week's Patriot League Rookie of the Week, Emma Sorensen, leads the Crusaders' hitting efforts with 182 kills and 3.14 kills per set while also having a team-best 202.5 points and 3.49 points per set. She is also second on the team in digs (118) and third in service aces (14) .
- Alana Whitwell leads Holy Cross on the back line offensively and defensively. She has a team-high 155 digs (2.67 per set) alongside a team-high 30 aces, good for the second most in the Patriot League.
- Katie Russell and Tiana Ozarpaci split setting duties, with 278 and 234 assists, respectively. Kyla Harris and Lacey Murphy guard the net, posting 44 blocks and 42 blocks so far in 2025.
History with Colgate
- The Black Knights lead the series, 45-42
- Current Streak: Colgate, 2 wins
- Last Army win: Oct. 6, 2024, 3-1
- Last Colgate win: Nov. 24, 2024, 3-2
Scouting the Raiders
- Colgate is 9-5 to start the season with a 4-0 league play record, placing them at the top of the Patriot League standings.
- Head coach Ryan Baker is in his 20th season in Hamilton and currently holds a 22-22 record when playing Army throughout his career.
- Last week's Patriot League Player of the Week, Milan Bayless, leads the team with 202 kills, 3.74 kills per set, 239 points and 4.43 points per set. She is also tied second on the team with 13 aces and is third with 39 blocks.
- Lal Akin, one-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week, leads the team and is second in the league with 61 total blocks this season. Derek Cukur holds a team-high 373 assists (7.04 per set).
- Julia Oster leads the team at the back and service line, holding a team-best 168 digs (3.11 per set) and also boasts 15 service aces.
