Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
3-2,0-0Patriot
Rider
1-4,0-0MAAC
Volleyball's Efficient Hitting Earns Four-Set Win Over Rider
September 06, 2025 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point Volleyball (3-2) earned its first win in Gillis Field House in 2025 on Saturday, defeating the Rider University Broncs (1-4), 3-1.
The Black Knights used five service aces, three of them coming from Mackenzie Lynch in the first set to take a 25-17 win.
The second set was the only one where the Black Knights struggled and ultimately fell to the Broncs 25-27.
Army came storming back in the third set, using a 12-3 run in the middle of the set to take a dominate 25-14 win into the fourth set.
In the final set, the Black Knights gained an early 14-8 lead, but then Rider came back to tie the game at 18-18. The Broncs would go on to take a 24-22 lead, but then Army rallied back to claim the final set 26-24.
Match Recap
The Black Knights came out firing on all cylinders. Mackenzie Lynch opened the match with an early kill, then caught fire from the service line with three aces in a four-point stretch that put Army in front 10–2.
Naomi Chinchar added an ace of her own while running a balanced offense, connecting with Chloe Murakami and Corrine Blackburn for kills to extend the lead. At the net, Bender and Murakami combined for a stuff block, while Juliette Myrick dropped in a kill from the setter spot to keep momentum rolling.
Rider cut the deficit to 17–12, but Army regained control with consecutive kills from Breelyn Bender and Tatum Grimes. Murakami chipped in a late ace, and Bender closed the frame with back-to-back kills as Army sealed it 25–17.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle, featuring 11 ties and six lead changes.
Lynch and Murakami shouldered the early attack load, while Grimes notched two quick kills to give Army a 10–8 edge. Rider stormed back with a 5-0 run, but Army countered as Chinchar and Myrick teamed up to spread the floor, feeding Bender and Blackburn in the middle.
Lynch tied the score at 23–23 with a clutch cross-court kill, and Myrick followed with an ace to give Army set point at 24–23. Rider responded with a block and back-to-back kills to survive and take the set 27–25, evening the match at one apiece.
Army regrouped in the third with its most complete performance of the afternoon. Grimes opened with a kill down the middle and later teamed with Bender for a block that set the tone. Murakami delivered back-to-back kills in transition to spark a 9–2 run, capped by a service ace from Chloe Murakami.
Myrick dished out 10 assists in the frame while also sneaking in two kills of her own. Lynch stayed aggressive on the outside, tallying four kills on .400 hitting in the set.
Rider was limited to just six kills as Army's block, led by Grimes and Bender, stifled the attack. A Murakami kill and Bender block punctuated the 25–14 rout, giving Army a 2–1 match lead.
The closing set was a thriller with momentum swings on both sides. Murakami and Lynch provided early offense, while Grimes stuffed two swings to keep Army close at 13–13. Rider briefly pulled ahead 19–17, but Army stormed back with a 4–1 run behind Bender's quick kills and a Stroud ace.
Lynch tied the frame at 23 with a powerful kill off the block, and after a Rider point, Myrick set up Lynch again for the equalizer at 24–24.
The Black Knights closed it out on the next two rallies as Lynch delivered her 15th kill of the match and Army forced a Rider error to clinch the 26–24 set and the 3–1 victory.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- Mackenzie Lynch led the attack with 15 kills, adding three service aces, nine digs, and a block for a team-best 19 points. She had five kills in the decisive fourth set.
- Breelyn Bender posted a career-high 13 kills on .600 hitting (13–1–20) and added two block assists, showcasing efficiency in the middle.
- Juliette Myrick directed the offense with a match-high 31 assists while also recording 14 digs, seven kills on .429 hitting, and two service aces for a double-double.
- Chloe Murakami turned in an all-around performance with 9 kills, two service aces, and 2 block assists, while stabilizing serve receive.
- Tatum Grimes anchored the middle with nine kills on .389 hitting and two block. Four of her kills came in the dominant third set.
- Naomi Chinchar contributed a steady 15 assists and 10 digs, along with a service ace, giving Army a strong second setter option.
- Corrine Blackburn chipped in three kills and two blocks in her first start of her career.
- Army hit a season-best .304 with 61 kills, compared to Rider's .131 hitting and 42 kills.
- Army finished with nine aces winning crucial points from the line.
- The Black Knights collected 54 digs and seven total blocks, forcing Rider into 25 attack errors.
Coach's Corner
"Our goal since the beginning of this preseason is to be able to be efficient," said head coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "We have powerful arms on our right, so we need to we knew that coming in. We just need to be a little bit smarter with the game. And we saw that improvement in efficiency today, so I am very, very happy with our performance today."
"I'm so proud of Breelyn Bender and her performance," Kovaci Lee continued, "because she literally works really hard every single day and wants to get good at this game. Like, genuinely, she's always the one with the great attitude, the practice, always fully committed to the block. She's also just unbelievable person. So to be able to see her do so well, it just so awesome."
"It's a long season and we have a pretty big team. No success happens without all 22 of us on the team. What you see on the game is a reflection of what happens in practice. If the practices continue to stay competitive and they continue to stay tough and have a great culture, the best is yet to come."
Up Next
Army will play in the final match of the Black Knights Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. ET, taking on the Binghamton University Bearcats. They are 1-0 in the tournament so far, earning a 3-0 win over Rider on Friday.
The final game of the tournament will also stream live on ESPN+.
