Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
12-9,6-6Patriot
Holy Cross
12-13,5-7Patriot
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Cross | 19 | 14 | 22 | 0 |
| Army West Point | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
October 30, 2026 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point volleyball (12-9, 6-6) secured its second consecutive victory with a three-set sweep of Holy Cross (12-13, 5-7) Friday evening at Gillis Field House, 25-19, 25-14, 25-22.
The Black Knights controlled the opening two sets before mounting an impressive comeback in the third, erasing an eight-point deficit to complete the sweep. Trailing 17-9 midway through the final frame, Army rallied to outscore the Crusaders 16-5 down the stretch, sealing the victory behind a strong offensive push and timely defensive plays.
Victoria Kasanganay anchored Army's defensive effort with eight total blocks, tying her career high. Kasanganay recorded two solo blocks and six block assists while adding five kills and 10 points, helping the Black Knights finish with 13 total team blocks.
Juliette Myrick led Army offensively with a match-high 10 kills, 18 assists, nine digs and six block assists, finishing with a match-high 14 points. Marlee Lightsey followed with nine kills and 10 digs, while Kennedy Jones added eight kills on a .263 hitting percentage.
Nicole Stroud paced the back row with a match-high 18 digs, while Naomi Chinchar contributed 15 assists and 11 digs. Kealakai Bandy added five kills on a .286 hitting percentage, five digs and three total blocks.
Army finished with 41 kills, 39 assists, 59 digs, four service aces and 13 total blocks while hitting .157 for the match. The Black Knights held Holy Cross to a negative .008 hitting percentage, limiting the Crusaders to just 24 kills while forcing 25 attack errors.
How It Happened
Army opened the first set with an early offensive spark as Myrick delivered consecutive kills before Lightsey added another finish to give the Black Knights a 4-1 advantage. Stroud followed with a service ace to extend the lead to 5-1.
Holy Cross responded with an 8-0 run to take a 9-5 advantage, forcing an Army timeout. Myrick stopped the run with a kill before combining with Parker and Lightsey to help the Black Knights battle back. A Parker-Lightsey block and a Crusaders setting error eventually tied the frame at nine.
The teams continued to exchange points until Kasanganay took over defensively at the net. With Army trailing 13-12, Kasanganay combined with Bandy for a block before recording a solo block to give the Black Knights a 14-13 lead.
Kasanganay and Bandy followed with another block, and Kasanganay added her second solo block during a 5-0 Army run that pushed the advantage to 17-13.
The Crusaders cut the deficit to 17-16, but Kasanganay stopped their momentum with a kill. Myrick then delivered consecutive kills before St. Clair recorded a service ace to extend Army's lead to 21-17.
Kasanganay added another kill before Lightsey brought the Black Knights to set point. Myrick closed out the 25-19 victory with her sixth kill of the frame.
Myrick paced Army with six kills on a .333 hitting percentage, while Kasanganay recorded four total blocks, including two solo stops. The Black Knights finished with six total team blocks and held Holy Cross to a negative .054 hitting percentage.
Army carried its momentum into the second set, overcoming an early 3-2 deficit behind kills from Lightsey and Myrick. Parker followed with a kill before Jones helped the Black Knights create separation.
With Army leading 5-4, Jones delivered a kill before combining with Parker for a block during a 4-0 run that pushed the advantage to 9-4 and forced a Holy Cross timeout.
Jones continued to provide an offensive spark, recording consecutive kills to extend Army's lead to 12-5. Parker added another kill before Bandy recorded a solo block to make it 15-7.
The Black Knights maintained control through the middle stages as Myrick delivered another kill before combining with Kasanganay for consecutive blocks, extending Army's advantage to 19-8.
Myrick and Parker continued to lead the offensive charge as Army pushed its lead to 23-12. Jones then delivered her fourth kill of the frame to bring the Black Knights to set point before Kasanganay secured the 25-14 victory with a kill, giving Army a 2-0 match lead.
Army delivered its most efficient offensive performance of the match in the second set, hitting .289 with 15 kills and just four attack errors. Myrick and Jones each recorded four kills, while Parker added three. The Black Knights held Holy Cross to a .000 hitting percentage and recorded five total blocks.
The Crusaders opened the third set with renewed momentum, scoring the first three points before extending their lead to 6-1 and forcing an early Army timeout.
Holy Cross continued to apply pressure, building a 9-2 advantage before Lightsey recorded a kill and Myrick followed with a service ace. Lightsey added two more kills, while Kasanganay helped Army cut the deficit to 11-8.
The Crusaders responded with another run, extending their advantage to 15-8 before eventually pushing ahead 17-9.
Army began to chip away at the deficit behind Kasanganay, who recorded a kill before combining with Myrick for a block. Parker added a kill to keep the Black Knights within striking distance, but Holy Cross maintained a 20-14 advantage.
Lightsey delivered a kill before Jones added another to cut the deficit to 20-16. After the Crusaders moved ahead 21-16, Army mounted its decisive comeback.
A Holy Cross service error and attack error brought the Black Knights within three before Jones delivered a kill to make it 21-19, forcing a Crusaders timeout.
Parker followed with a service ace before Bandy recorded a kill to tie the set at 21, completing a 5-0 Army run.
Holy Cross briefly regained the lead at 22-21, but Bandy answered with another kill to even the frame at 22. Kasanganay and Myrick then combined for a block to give Army its first lead of the set at 23-22.
A Crusaders setting error brought the Black Knights to match point before Bandy delivered the match-clinching kill to secure the 25-22 victory, completing Army's third-set comeback and three-set sweep.
Army closed the match by scoring the final four points and outscoring Holy Cross 11-2 after trailing 20-14. Bandy recorded four kills on six attacks in the third set, hitting .500, while Lightsey added four kills and Jones contributed three.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- Victoria Kasanganay tied her career high with eight total blocks, recording two solo blocks and six block assists. She added five kills and finished with 10 points.
- Kasanganay recorded four blocks in the opening set, including two solo stops during Army's 5-0 run that turned a 13-12 deficit into a 17-13 advantage. She also combined with Myrick for the go-ahead block at 23-22 in the third set.
- Juliette Myrick led Army with a match-high 10 kills and 14 points, adding 18 assists, nine digs, six block assists and a service ace. She recorded six kills on a .333 hitting percentage in the opening set.
- Marlee Lightsey finished with nine kills and 10 digs, adding a block assist for 9.5 points. She recorded four kills in the third set to help fuel Army's comeback.
- Kennedy Jones contributed eight kills on 19 attacks, hitting .263 while adding a block assist. Jones recorded four kills on five attacks in the second set for a .600 hitting percentage.
- Nicole Stroud anchored Army's defense with a match-high 18 digs, adding four assists and a service ace.
- Naomi Chinchar dished out 15 assists and collected 11 digs, while helping direct Army's offense to 41 kills.
- Kealakai Bandy finished with five kills on a .286 hitting percentage, adding five digs, one solo block and two block assists. Bandy recorded four kills in the third set, including the match-clinching point.
- Michelle Parker added four kills, four block assists and a service ace, finishing with seven points. Her service ace tied the third set at 20 during Army's comeback.
- Audrey St. Clair contributed four digs and a service ace, while Annette Lee also saw action for the Black Knights.
- Army finished with 13 total blocks, recording three solo blocks and 20 block assists. The Black Knights outblocked Holy Cross 13-9.
- The Black Knights held Holy Cross to a negative .008 hitting percentage, forcing 25 attack errors while allowing just 24 kills.
- Army recorded its strongest offensive performance in the second set, hitting .289 with 15 kills and four errors while limiting Holy Cross to a .000 hitting percentage.
- Army overcame a 17-9 deficit in the third set, outscoring the Crusaders 16-5 to complete the sweep. The Black Knights also erased a 20-14 deficit with an 11-2 closing run.
- Army held Holy Cross to single-digit kills in all three sets, allowing seven in the first, nine in the second and eight in the third.
Coach's Corner:
Up Next
The Black Knights hit the road for the fourth time in five games on Sunday, Nov. 1, as they head upstate to Hamilton to take on the Colgate University Raiders.
The teams already faced off once this season with Army sweeping Colgate on Sept. 25 inside Gillis Field House.
The game is set for a 2 p.m. ET first serve. For fans that can't make it to Cotterell Court on the campus of Colgate University, the game will stream live on ESPN+.
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.
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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.
