Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Quinnipiac
Army Topples Quinnipiac, 3-1
September 16, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2011
HAMDEN, Conn. - Sophomore MB Megan Wilton and junior OH Francine Vasquez paced Army's attack with 13 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Black Knights notched their eighth victory of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Quinnipiac on the first night of the Yale/Quinnipiac Tournament.
Army (8-3) won the first two sets handily (25-12, 25-17) before the Bobcats squeaked past the Black Knights in the third (25-23) to keep the match alive. Army outlasted Quinnipiac (1-10) by a 25-22 score in the fourth and sealed the match.
In addition to her match-high 13 kills, Wilton hit for a .579 attack percentage with just two errors in 19 attempts. Army hit .237 as a team, while the defense held Quinnipiac to a .026 mark. Sophomore L D.J. Phee led all players with 18 digs, followed by senior OH Fabiola Castro and freshman s Mary Vaccaro with 16 and 10 digs, respectively. Vaccaro completed her seventh double-double (assists, digs) of the season with 44 assists.
Sophomore DS/S Lauren Woodbroke a 4-4 tie by serving for five-straight points in the opening set. The Bobcats never settled into their offense and watched the Black Knights cruise to a convincing 25-12 victory.
Army jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the second set before Quinnipiac cut the deficit to two (9-11). At that point, a kill from freshman MB Molly McDonald ignited a critical 6-0 run as the Black Knights settled into a 17-9 lead. McDonald teamed with Vasquez on a double-block for the 17th point. The Bobcats would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
In the most competitive set of the match, Army and Quinnipiac played through 15 ties and seven lead changes before the Bobcats came away with the 25-23 win. Army fell into a 7-4 hole in the early going before tying the match at 7-7 on a Bobcat error. From there, neither team led by more than three points. A Quinnipiac kill late in the action knotted the score at 22-all, but a service error on the next play put Army on top (23-22). Despite an Army timeout, Quinnipiac scored the next three points unanswered and forced a fourth set.
Quinnipiac led 13-10 midway through the fourth frame, but Army scored five of the next six points to jump ahead (15-14). Wilton (two kills) and junior OH Ariana Mankus (one kill) combined for three-straight kills to highlight the run. The teams found themselves tied five times before Army was able to seal the victory. The Black Knights broke a 20-20 tie with back-to-back kills from Castro and Wilton and went on to finish the set riding a 5-2 run. Army totaled a match-high 17 kills and hit .286 for the frame.
Taylor Payne led Quinnipiac with nine kills, while three other players totaled seven apiece.
Army remains in New England, but changes location to New Haven, Conn., for day two of the Yale/Quinnipiac Tournament. The Black Knights take on New Hampshire at 11 a.m. and host Yale at 7 p.m. A live webcast will be offered for the Army vs. Yale match. Click here for details.
Match Notes: Mary Vaccaro has recorded a double-double (assists, digs) in each of the last three matches ... Army improved to 7-0 all-time against Quinnipiac ... Army is 4-1 in four-set matches this season.
