Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
3-6
UC Irvine
4-3
Volleyball Drops Match to UC Irvine
September 07, 2014 | Volleyball
IRVINE, CALIF. - Army concluded its four-game California swing with a loss to UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon at Crawford Gym. The Anteaters controlled the first and third sets and edged Army 28-26 in the decisive fourth for the victory.
"It was a really tough match, but I was proud of the comeback and the fight," head coach Alma Kovaci said. "Coming back from a tough win yesterday with an early game today makes for some tired legs, but we are getting better. Even though it didn't result in a win, we now know what we are capable of doing and consistency will come. Shannel Chong did a phenomenal job as the libero and Vanessa Edwards played well distributing the offense."
UC Irvine jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead before scoring the next nine points to go ahead 16-3 in the opening set. The lead stretched to 15 (20-5) for the Anteaters, who took the opening set 25-10.
Army bounced back in the second set and the two sides were even at 16 apiece through the first 32 points. The Black Knights scored five of the next six points, including two kills by junior Nicole Perri, service aces by Chong and Edwards and a kill by sophomore Alexandra Bell. Perri's run of excellent offensive play continued after being named to the Mizuno Invitational All-Tournament Team. UC Irvine pulled within a point at 23-22, but Army closed the second set with a kill by Carolyn Bockrath and an Anteaters miscue allowed Army to level the match at one set apiece.
The home team controlled the third set from the start, scoring the first four points and six of the first seven. The cushion stretched to as many as 12 when UC Irvine won the set 25-13 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Anteaters opened set four like they did in the third, and secured an early lead before going up 17-10. Army refused to go down quietly, however, as the Black Knights put together a 7-2 run to pull within two points at 19-17. The points alternated and Army trailed 22-21 after kills by Molly McDonald and Bockrath. Senior Kristen Smeland delieverd an ace to even the score at 22-22, the first tie of the set, prompting UC Irvine to call a timeout. After the stoppage, Army grabbed its first lead of the match at 23-22 on another Bockrath kill. The teams traded points until UC Irvine escaped with a 28-26 win.
Perri (10) and Bockrath (9) led Army in kills, with Bockrath posting a .421 hitting percentage. Defensively, Chong paced the Black Knights with 12 digs and Edwards contributed a team-high 31 assists.
Army completes its five-match road trip on Wednesday evening when the team plays Marist at 7 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
