Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
American
October 23, 2026 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point volleyball (10-8, 4-5) will wrap up a three-game road trip this week, as they head to Washington, D.C. and Maryland to take on American (14-4, 9-0) and Loyola Maryland (7-11, 5-4).
First, Army will play its first ever game in the Meltzer Center in on Friday, October. 23 at 6 p.m. ET, taking on the American University Eagles. The Black Knights will aim to get their first win over the Eagles since the 2023 season.
Less than twenty-four hours later, the Black Knights will then head to Baltimore, Md., to take on the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds inside Reitz Arena on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. ET. The two teams face off after Army earned a 3-1 win in Gillis Field House over the Greyhounds on Sept. 18 in both teams' Patriot League opener.
For fans who cannot make it to either game the weekend, both games will stream live on ESPN+.
ARMY STORYLINES:
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK: Army only played one match last weekend, battling the Navy Midshipmen, ultimately falling, 2-3, in a closely contested match. Juliette Myrick led Army with an outstanding all-around performance, recording a team-high 12 kills on a .346 hitting percentage, 31 assists, six digs, one service ace and two block assists. Myrick finished with a team-high 14 points. Kealakai Bandy, Michelle Parker and Kennedy Jones each added 11 kills, giving Army four players in double figures. Nicole Stroud anchored the defense with 22 digs, while Bandy collected 13 and Naomi Chinchar added 12.
JACK OF ALL TRADES: Juliette Myrick continues to serve as the central piece to Army's offense this season. She directs the offense with a team-best 419 assists (6.35 per set) while also adding 22 ser vice aces, the best mark on the team. Two weeks ago, she earned the Patriot League first triple-double of the season, finishing with 10 kills, 26 assists and 11 digs against Navy. She is also approaching some major accolades. She is 161 assists away from reaching 2,000 career assists, and 48 kills away from reaching 500 career kills. She also reached 100 career blocks earleir this season. If she reaches the other two marks, she would be the first player in Army history to have 2000+ assists, 500+ kills and 100+ blocks.
SETTING THE STANDARD: Army holds some of the best numbers in NCAA Division I in several statistical categories. The Black Knights are one of the best serving teams as well as passing teams in the country. The Black Knights are currently 13th in the country in digs per set (16.65) and 37th in the country in aces per set (1.86). The team is also in the top 70 or higher in two other statistical categories, including assists per set (54) and kills per set (69).
DIGGING FOR THE WIN: The Black Knights are one of the top teams in the country in defending their back line. Army currently averages 16.65 digs a set, which sits as the 13th-best mark in NCAA Div. I, above schools including Texas, Penn State, Louisville, Creighton, Pitt, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Nicole Stroud leads the team with 248 digs this season, while four others have over 100 digs: Juliette Myrick (188), Naomi Chinchar (152), Marlee Lightsey (135) and Janie Deapen (102).
KEEPING UP WITH JONES: Sophomore Kennedy Jones proved to be one of the offensive standouts for the Black Knights through this season. She leads the team with 173 kills (2.66 per set) while posting a .220 hitting percentage, while also adding a team-best 34 blocks. Her standout performance this season came against UAlbany, where she tallied 18 kills on a .452 hitting percentage. Jones also contributed five blocks and finished with a career-high 20.5 points. She also had 13 kills on a .600 hitting percentage in Army's win over Liberty. She had 11 kills in four of Army's last five games, including in Army's lone game against Navy last week.
LIGHT 'EM LIGHTSEY: A front runner for Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Marlee Lightsey has been named the Rookie of the Week four times this season. She also tied the Army Volleyball record for most consecutive Rookie of the Week honors at four. She shares the record with Olivia Fairfield, who won the award four consecutive weeks in October 2013, and Abby Casciato, who won it four weeks in a row in 2002. She is second on the team with 137 kills (2.49 k/s) plus adds 135 digs and 17 aces. She also earned five double-doubles this season, with her most recent being 12 kills and 10 digs against Lehigh.
HOLDING DOWN THE BACK LINE: Nicole Stroud has served as Army's primary libero this season, setting the tone for Army's defense this season, which leads the Patriot League and sits 13th in the country in digs per set (16.65). The junior has a team-best 248 digs this season and averages 4.11 per set, numbers good for fifth in the Patriot League. Last week she finished with a team-high 22 digs (4.4 d/s) against Navy. She has earned over 20 digs in four matches this season, plus holds a .965 reception percentage, only having nine errors this season.
History with American
- The Eagles lead the series, 49-13
- Current Streak: American, 7 wins
- Last Army win: Nov. 4, 2023, 3-2
- Last American win: Sept. 19, 2026, 3-0
History with Loyola Maryland
- The Black Knights lead the series, 20-8
- Current Streak: Army, 4 wins
- Last Army win: Sept. 18, 2026, 3-1
- Last Loyola Md. win: Sept. 28, 2024, 3-2
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point women's volleyball, follow the Black Knights on X and Instagram at @ArmyWP_VB, online at www.goarmywestpoint.com and turn on notifications for volleyball in the Army Athletics app.
Army West Point Athletic Association, Inc. (AWPAA)
AWPAA is an IRS code 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established to execute the United States Military Academy's intercollegiate athletics program. AWPAA is led by a board of directors that provides guidance to the director of athletics, who serves as the primary advisor to the USMA Superintendent and the USMA leadership on all NCAA operations. The AWPAA mission is to recruit, educate, train and inspire leaders of character who are committed to the Army values through an extraordinary Division I athletic experience.
