Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
7-11, 3-3Patriot
American
13-4, 4-0Patriot
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | 20 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 15 | 3 |
| Army | 25 | 21 | 16 | 29 | 12 | 2 |
American Takes Five-Set Thriller from Volleyball
October 05, 2014 | Volleyball
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WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army claimed the first and fourth sets against the defending Patriot League champions, but ultimately fell 3-2 to American on Sunday afternoon at Gillis Field House. The visiting Eagles extended their winning streak to nine matches with set scores of 20-25, 25-21, 25-16, 27-29 and 15-12.
American also improved to 4-0 in Patriot League play and 13-4 on the year. Army dropped to 7-11 overall and 3-3 in conference competition.
Freshman Amber Clay registered a career-high 22 kills to lead Army's offense and junior Nicole Perri also was in double-figures with 15 kills. At libero, Shannel Chong posted a match-and-career high 30 digs and setter Vanessa Edwards paced Army with 53 assists. Four American players had double-digit digs, including Allison Cappellino's team-high 23. Cappelino had a double-double with 22 kills. American's Kristyna Lindovska led everyone with five blocks and Monika Smidova handed out 50 assists.
"I'm really pleased with our effort and performance today," head coach Alma Kovaci stated. "I wish we could have came away with a win, but American is one of the best teams in our league and we showed we can play with the best competition. The way we came back in the fourth set was very encouraging and I thought we did a better job with our blocking as the match went on. We still have things to improve on, but I like how our team is progressing."
Army and American played to a 6-6 tie early in the opening set after Army scored six of the initial eight points. The Black Knights used a timeout down 8-7 after American's 6-1 spurt and came out of the break with three straight points and six of the next seven to take a 13-9 lead as the Eagles called for time. After the stoppage Army completed its 7-1 run with a block by Perri to go ahead by five. The lead increased to 17-10 for the home side when AU used its final timeout of the game. The two sides traded points the rest of the way and Army took the 1-0 lead with a 25-20 victory on a kill by Jaden Pickell. She finished the match with nine kills.
Through the first 20 points, Army found itself playing catch up and trailed 11-9 at that point. American scored the next two points and Army used a timeout, but the Black Knights were unable to regroup as American scored three of the following four points to build a 16-10 advantage. The Eagles eventually leveled the match by holding off a late Army rally with a 25-21 win in the second set.
American ran out to an 11-5 lead in the third set, prompting Army to call timeout. Kills by Clay and Carolyn Bockrath trimmed the deficit to four, but American didn't blink and pushed the cushion back to six at 14-8. The Eagles led by as many as eight before four in-a-row by Army forced American to call timeout. After the break, Clay's kill drew Army within three points at 19-16, but American put in the final six points to win 25-16.
Momentum continued for American as it built a quick 8-2 lead in the fourth set. The Eagles led 14-6 at Army's first timeout, but the Black Knights refused to quit. An 8-3 Army stretch pulled the home side within three (17-14) when AU used a timeout, and Army made it a one-point game at 19-18 on a solo block by Edwards. The match was tied at 19-19 before points alternated and Megan Rosberg's ace put AU up 22-20. A kill from Perri gave Army the serve and a ball handling error tied the set again at 22 apiece. American had set point at 24-22, but a service error, a combined block and a kill by Rachel Gearon had Army in command 25-24. The Eagles forced ties at 25, 26 and 27 all, with Clay racking up kills to put the Black Knights ahead each time. Perri then finished the comeback with a right-handed spike to win 29-27.
The Eagles held a 5-1 lead in the decisive fifth set but Army came back to tie the score at 7-7 after a timeout. Kelly McCaddin's kill before the teams switched sides put AU back in front and two ball handling errors pushed the lead back to three (10-7) when Army called timeout. Clay scored two of the next three points before Edwards and Bockrath combined on a block, forcing American to call for time. American led 13-11 before a long rally ended with a kill by Perri, but American scored the final two points to win 15-12.
Army is back in action on the road at Navy on Friday evening at 7 p.m., before a matchup with Lafayette the following night.
