Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Army Blanks Rival Navy
October 19, 2012 | Volleyball
Oct. 19, 2012
Final Stats
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WEST POINT, N.Y. - Sophomore setter Mary Vaccaro was one kill shy of a triple-double, while senior co-captain Ariana Mankus and junior outside hitter Margaux Jarka tallied 10 and 11 kills, respectively, as the Army volleyball team hung on for a 3-0 win over rival Navy on Friday night at a packed Gillis Field House.
The victory extended the Black Knights' win streak to four matches and improved Army (15-6, 7-1 Patriot League) to 41-10 all-time against Navy (8-12, 4-4). The Black Knights took a 2-0 (25-15, 25-22) lead into the break and outlasted Navy 26-24 in a thrilling third set to close out the sweep.
Vaccaro totaled 19 assists, 10 digs and nine kills in a standout all-around effort. The Orinda, Calif., native hit for a .571 percentage with just one error in 14 attempts. Freshman setter Vanessa Edwards totaled 15 assists, which helped free-up Vaccaro to hit.
"Beating Navy is a lot of fun," Vaccaro said. "The entire team played so well tonight. Vanessa's sets were just right there, perfect every time. It made it that much easier to get kills. The passing and blocking tonight were huge reasons for tonight's win as well. We really gelled tonight and it resulted in a great team win."
While Vaccaro, Mankus and Jarka led the offense, junior libero D.J. Phee anchored an Army defense that held the Midshipmen to a .066 hitting percentage. Phee led all players with 18 digs. Freshman middle Zoe Kreitenberg chipped in with a match-high five total blocks.
"This was a very competitive match," said sixth-year head coach Alma Kovaci. "It was one of the best Army-Navy matches I've seen in a while. Give Navy credit for that. They were prepared and are a very well-coached team. Mary (Vaccaro) and Ariana (Mankus) led the team. I also thought Francine (Vasquez) came up with crucial points when we needed to score. D.J. Phee's served strategically in set two and provided a huge momentum shift for us.
"This was a tremendous win for us," she added. "We showed a lot of mental toughness."
The teams opened the match back-and-forth before Army made its move midway through. A Jarka service ace broke a 7-7 tie and ignited a decisive 7-2 Black Knights run. The team cruised from there, collecting a 25-15 victory to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set opened in much the same fashion, but it was Navy pushing ahead 11-7 on an Army miscue. Army continued to chip away at the deficit and later leveled the score at 15-15 on a Mids error. A Jarka kill two points later evened the score 17-17 lead and put Phee on the service line. The Allen, Texas, native served for the next four points, which proved to be the difference in a 25-22 victory.
The third set alone featured 11 ties and four lead changes throughout. Neither team led by more than four points the entire way. Momentum shifted Navy's way as the Mids pulled ahead 21-17 late in the action. The next four points belonged to the Army on kills from Vasquez (two), Kreitenberg and Kreitenberg as the Black Knights leveled the score at 21-21. Two additional ties ensued with the final coming at 24-24. Coming out of an Army timeout, Navy committed two costly errors to end the match.
Junior outside hitter Erin Fortner led the Mids with 11 kills. She completed a double-double with 10 digs.
Army returns to action tomorrow as the team welcomes defending champion American to Gillis Field House. First serve is set for 4 p.m. The Black Knights will honor Mankus, Vasquez and head manager Nikki Hernandez as a part of Senior Day festivities before the match.
A webcast of tomorrow afternoon's match will be available via Knight Vision. Real-time updates will be offered through GameTracker (live statistics) and @Army_Volleyball on Twitter.
Game Notes: Army has swept each of its last four opponents ... American escaped Holy Cross with a 3-2 win on Friday night in Worcester, Mass.
