Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
8-4,2-1Patriot
Colgate
6-6,1-2Patriot
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colgate | 24 | 28 | 18 | 0 |
| Army West Point | 26 | 30 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Sweeps Colgate to Earn Second Win of Patriot League Play
September 25, 2026 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point volleyball (8-4, 2-1) earned a straight-set victory over Colgate (6-6, 1-2) on Friday night at Gillis Field House, taking down the Raiders, 26-24, 30-28, 25-18.
With the win, Army earns its first sweep over the Raiders since Oct. 28, 2023, when the Black Knights swept the Raiders inside Gillis Field House. Army produced 50 kills and hit .241 for the match, saving its best offensive performance for the third set with 16 kills and a .361 hitting percentage.
Kennedy Jones and Marlee Lightsey led a balanced Army attack with 11 kills apiece. Jones committed just one error on 24 swings to hit .417, while Lightsey added 12 digs, two service aces and a block.
Michelle Parker finished with nine kills on 20 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage, while Janie Deapen added nine kills and nine digs.
How It Happened
Army faced an early deficit in the opening set as Colgate built a 14-9 advantage. The Black Knights began to work their way back behind Michelle Parker, Marlee Lightsey and Janie Deapen. Lightsey delivered a kill and service ace during the push before Parker's kill cut the deficit to 17-14.
Army continued to chip away, using Colgate attack errors and a Deapen kill to eventually pull even at 19. The teams traded points from there before Army moved ahead 24-23 on a Kennedy Jones kill. Colgate tied the frame at 24, but Lightsey responded with back-to-back kills to give the Black Knights a 26-24 opening-set victory. Parker led Army with five kills in the frame, while Lightsey added four.
The second set developed into an extended back-and-forth battle that featured 17 ties and seven lead changes. Army turned an early 6-5 deficit into an 8-6 advantage behind kills from Lightsey, Naomi Chinchar and Deapen, but Colgate responded with an 8-2 run to take a 14-10 lead.
Deapen helped spark Army's response, recording two kills and a service ace as the Black Knights pulled within 15-13. Nicole Stroud followed with an ace before a Colgate attack error tied the frame at 16.
Later, Jones and Parker delivered consecutive kills to erase another two-point deficit and make it 18-18.
Neither side was able to create separation down the stretch. Army fought off Colgate's set-point opportunity at 24-23 with a Lightsey kill before Stroud's service ace gave the Black Knights a 25-24 lead.
The teams continued trading points until the score reached 28-28. Ryan Leclair then delivered an ace to put Army at set point before Breelyn Bender finished the marathon frame with a kill for the 30-28 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Army carried the momentum into the third, with Jones recording kills on each of the first two rallies. A Lightsey-Parker block followed to give the Black Knights an early 3-0 advantage, but Colgate answered and eventually moved ahead 12-9.
The Black Knights responded with their decisive run of the match. Jones recorded five kills during an 8-1 Army surge, including four during a 6-0 run that turned a 13-10 deficit into a 16-13 advantage. Stroud capped the run with a service ace before Jones added another kill to stretch the lead to 17-13.
Army continued to pull away behind Lightsey, Myrick and Deapen. Lightsey added a kill to make it 19-14 before Myrick and Parker combined for a block.
Deapen followed with a kill, and Lightsey's service ace pushed the advantage to 23-15. Myrick ultimately put away the final point to close the 25-18 victory and complete the sweep.
Army hit a match-best .361 in the third set, totaling 16 kills against just three errors. Jones was nearly perfect in the frame, putting down seven kills on eight attacks without an error for an .875 hitting percentage.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- Kennedy Jones led Army with 11 kills and hit a team-best .417, committing just one attack error on 24 swings. She also added a block assist and finished with 11.5 points.
- Jones delivered a dominant third set, recording seven kills on eight error-free attacks for an .875 hitting percentage. Five of those kills came during Army's decisive 8-1 run that put the Black Knights in control.
- Marlee Lightsey finished with 11 kills and 12 digs for a double-double while adding two service aces and a block assist. She totaled a team-high 13.5 points.
- Lightsey delivered in several key moments, recording consecutive kills to close the first set, 26-24, and another kill to erase Colgate's set-point opportunity in the second. She also added a service ace during Army's closing run in the third.
- Michelle Parker recorded nine kills on 20 attacks with just one error for a .400 hitting percentage. She added two block assists and finished with 10 points.
- Janie Deapen added nine kills, nine digs, a service ace and one solo block. She finished with 11 points and helped fuel Army's second-set comeback with five kills in the frame.
- Juliette Myrick filled the stat sheet with six kills, 24 assists and a team-high 20 digs while adding a service ace and two total blocks. Myrick also recorded the match-clinching kill in the third set.
- Nicole Stroud collected 11 digs and three service aces, including key aces late in the second set and during Army's decisive third-set run.
- Army finished with 50 kills, 46 assists, seven service aces and 64 digs, while hitting .241 for the match. Colgate totaled 42 kills and hit .222.
- The match featured 31 ties and 16 lead changes, including 17 ties and seven lead changes in the second set alone.
Coach's Corner
Hear head coach Alma Kovaci Lee's thoughts about Army's sweep over Colgate!
Up Next
Army hits the road for the first time in league play on Sunday, Sept. 27, as they head to the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass., to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders.
The Black Knights have won 33 of the last 35 matchups between the two teams and currently hold a 14-game winning streak over the Crusaders.
The match is slated for a 2 p.m. ET first serve. For fans who cannot make it to Worcester, the matchup 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.
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.
