ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Army West Point Volleyball completed their weekend Sept. 7 in the Gateway to the West with their third match of the Saint Louis Invitational. The Black Knights faced off with Xavier and claimed their third win of the season in a dramatic five-set showdown.
Match RecapArmy's team entered the match ready to fight for their first win of the weekend and quickly got to work separating themselves from the Musketeers. After things were tied up at 3-3 and the Musketeers found a slight edge at 5-3, the Black Knights found two 5-1 runs to surge ahead to a 13-7 lead with a plethora of kills from Army's front row.The Black Knights continued to hammer away at the Musketeers with a relentless onslaught, led by senior right-side hitter Kingsley Wallace and freshman middle blocker Tatum Grimes to move up to a 21-13 lead in the first frame.Xavier's team sought to cut the Black Knights off with a 5-0 run of their own, but a trio of kills from Wallace and a block from Wallace and freshman middle blocker Breelyn Bender clinched Army's first set of the match.After the opening points of the second frame the two squads lock into a standoff all the way up to 10-10 before the Black Knights pulled away with a 6-1 run highlighted by a kill from Bender and service aces from freshmen Nicole Stroud and Naomi Chinchar.The Musketeers would not be so easily handled, however, and challenged Army's lead with a 7-1 run of their own to go up 20-19 before a kill from Murakami tied things up.The Black Knights continued to out-side out the Musketeers with two points to Xavier's one until a kill from Tatum Grimes clinched the second set for Army 25-23.Xavier's squad fought back as the match wore on, however, and flew ahead to an eight-point lead at 18-10. Army's squad put up a five-point run to bring the difference back within three points after kills from Wallace, Murakami and Grimes.Despite the Black Knights' surge, the momentum remained with the Musketeers and the third set went to the designated visitors at 25-20.Xavier proved a difficult foe after finding their footing in the third set and after the two battled their way to a 14-14 tie, the Musketeers pushed ahead to a 21-14 lead on a seven-point run. A trio of errors from the Black Knights saw the match tied up at 2-2 as the fourth set wrapped up at 25-19 for the Musketeers.In a display of the Black Knights' work on becoming gritty competitors, Army's squad set out to reclaim the match's momentum from the first point of the tiebreak set.Wallace served as a lynchpin for the Black Knights', logging two kills to push Army up to a 5-2 lead.Ever a tough opponent, Xavier's squad made a 3-1 run to cut the difference to just one point before the Black Knights could open the gap once more after a kill from Murakami saw the two teams head towards a 10-7 gap.The Musketeers made the most of their offense to close the gap again to a 10-9 difference before Army said enough is enough and delivered a 5-0 run to definitively decide the tiebreak 15-9 and clinch their third win of the season.Black Knights Bullet Points
Coach's Corner"I'm so proud of our fight today! Xavier is a very good team with an incredible defense and fast offense," said Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "It was great to see our young team compete and give their absolute best. We increased our efficiency and adjusted our game plan when needed. Everyone that came into the game responded very well."