Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
17-9,8-5Patriot
Lehigh
13-14,6-7Patriot
Army Clinches Tournament Berth With Win Over Lehigh
November 08, 2019 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point volleyball team defeated Lehigh 3-1 on Friday night, officially clinching a berth into the Patriot League volleyball tournament.
"I am very proud of our team's toughness tonight," Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee said. "We've been working on different in-game scenarios and that second set really put that work to the test. It was great to see them fight through and win that one."
After a strong first set in which Army posted a .353 hitting percentage, Army and Lehigh battled throughout the second set with Army eventually pulling through in extra frames by a score of 32-30. In the third, Bucknell jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but the Black Knights showed off their grit, fighting back even the set at 15. Bucknell was able to regain control, taking the set 25-22. In the fourth, Army showed its resilience, bouncing back to post a dominant .552 hitting percentage in a match-clinching 25-9 set victory.
"The maturity we showed in that fourth set was huge," Kovaci Lee said. "This team made sure we bounced back after what happened in the third and that's all you can ask for."
Senior setter Nikki Lum set a career-high with 36 assists. Lum had recorded 35 assists three times in her career before tonight. Four Black Knights recorded double-digit kills as Emmy Barnhorst (15), Courtney Horace (11), Monica Eckford (10) and Sydney Morriss (10) paced the offensive attack. On the defensive side, Ana Oglivie (22 digs) and Sayler Butters (19 digs) helped limit Lehigh to a .128 hitting percentage in the match.
"Credit to everyone on the court tonight," Kovaci Lee said. "Nikki was tremendous setting up our attack, our hitters got smarter as the night went on and our back row really helped get things going all night. Sayler was awesome tonight for us."
The Black Knights now turn their attention to their final home regular season match tomorrow night against Bucknell.
"Tonight was a great, tough team victory," Kovaci Lee said. "Now we get back to work tomorrow against Bucknell."
Prior to Saturday's match, the team will honor its four senior classmen with a Senior Night Ceremony at Gillis Field House.
