Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
11-13, 6-5Patriot
Bucknell
4-15, 3-8Patriot
Volleyball Knocks Off Bucknell in Dig Pink Game
October 25, 2014 | Volleyball
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The result helped Army to a sweep of the season series with Bucknell as the team improved to 11-13 and 6-5 in the conference. Bucknell dropped to 4-15 overall and 3-8 in the Patriot League.
The Black Knights' offense ran through rookie setter Avery Alexander, who was credited with a season-high 52 assists and she also contributed 13 digs for her third straight double-double. On the receiving end of Alexander's passes were Jaden Pickell (18 kills), Nicole Perri (16), Carolyn Bockrath (15), Amber Clay (nine) and Rachel Gearon (nine). Defensively, senior Deanna Dalton dug out 30 balls and Kristen Smeland had 19 in the win. Perri added 13 digs for her second double-double of the season.
As a team Army set season highs in digs (105) and assists (68) and blocks (13).
“I am so proud of the way we battled back tonight,” head coach Alma Kovaci said. “Bucknell played a great match and we were able to overcome a number of obstacles and persevere. We still have many areas of our game that we can improve upon, but we are going to enjoy this victory now and get back to work on Monday. This was a great team win, but in particular I was really proud of Avery and Jaden’s effort.”Bucknell was led by Jordan Walker, who posted 18 kills and 17 digs, and Meghan Wentzel, who also recorded double-double with 45 assists and 13 digs.
Trailing 2-0 in the match, Army scored seven of the first 10 points in the third set before Bucknell used a timeout. Two of the next three points went in Army's favor, but the Black Knights surrendered the lead as Bucknell used a 7-2 run to pull within a point at 11-10. Following an Army timeout, Clay dropped a shot in to put Army up two, but Bucknell tied the score at 12 apiece. Clay put down another kill to break the tie, Pickell followed with one of her own and Army went ahead three when Gearon and Perri combined on a block. Gearon added Army's fourth straight point and Bucknell called timeout down 16-12. Army closed the set on a 13-6 run to win 25-18.
After Bucknell called timeout with the score tied at 10-10, Army went ahead by two and took advantage of a tremendous effort by Pickell to keep the ball alive when it went into the Army bench. Later in the same rally, Bockrath finished the kill to put Army in front. Moments later, consecutive blocks by Gearon had Army up 17-15. The Bison refused to go away, however, and took an 18-17 lead on a block by Erika Eastley. The next two points went to Bucknell (20-17) prior to Pickell's point and Gearon's ace cut the deficit to one. The score was tied at 20 and 21 all, before a Bucknell attack error and an ace by Pickell gave Army the 23-21 lead. Bucknell responded with a kill by Hailey Stout (12 kills) and an Eastley ace to tie the game again at 23-23.
Eastley delivered another ace following an Army timeout, but Perri tied it at 24 with a right-handed spike. Bockrath extended the match with a kill (25-25), Alexander tied it (26-26), Clay did the same (27-27) as Army scored facing match point four straight times. Bucknell avoided set point three times before Army finally came away with the 32-30 triumph when Bockrath and Alexander combined on a block to win the set.
Army gained a 4-2 advantage in the final set and never trailed en route to the 15-11 win. Bucknell closed the gap to one at 12-11, before Army put in the final three points to complete the comeback.
The Black Knights secured an early 13-8 lead in the opening set with a 6-1 run that forced Bucknell to call timeout following a pair of kills by Gearon and a Bison attack error. Bucknell came back and trimmed the deficit to two points at 16-14 when Army called for time to regroup. The Bison won a long rally with a kill by Eastly and scored three of the next four to tie the score at 17-17. The run continued and stretched to 11-4 for Bucknell on Stout's kill, and two service aces punctuated the 13-4 spurt. The Bison led 21-17 before Perri's kill and a block by Vanessa Wesley forced Bucknell to call timeout at 21-19. The two traded the next two points before a long rally went to Army on a Bockrath kill. Dalton's ace tied the score at 22-22, but Bucknell earned the final three points to close to set at 25-22.
Bucknell built a 15-11 lead midway through the second frame when Army called timeout following consecutive Bison points. They added two more points to stretch the lead to six and eventually took the set 25-20.
Army's next match is against Colgate on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. The matchup is Army's lone contest of the weekend and begins a three-match road trip for the squad.
