Volleyball Drops Match to Lafayette

Saturday, October 16

West Point, NY

4 PM

Army West Point

12-6,6-3Patriot

Lafayette

10-7,7-2Patriot

Lafayette

Army West Point

Volleyball Drops Match to Lafayette

October 16, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

MATCH 18
SCORE	Army 1, Lafayette 3
RECORDS	Army (12-6, 6-3) \| Lafayette (10-7, 7-2)
LOCATION	Gillis Field House

WEST POINT, N.Y. --- Army West Point volleyball (12-6, 6-3) fell 3-1 to Lafayette (10-7, 7-2) on Saturday night at Gillis Field House.

Allanah Cutler led Army's offense with 21 kills, followed by Paige Fixemer with 15. Mackenzie Karnig contributed to both sides of the, notching her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 digs, while Sayler Butters recorded 28 digs for the Black Knights.

How It Happened

Lafayette came out with a vengeance from the beginning of set one leading 11-6 at the first timeout. Cutler recorded three kills to help shift the momentum in Army's favor, tying the match at 14-14. Attacking errors began to get the best of the Black Knights allowing the Leopards to regain control of the lead. Late in the set, Army took advantage of an attacking error made by its opponent to takeoff on a 4-0 scoring run cutting Lafayette's lead to 22-21. Black Knights were unable to fix errors, allowing Lafayette to win 25-22. Cutler was dominant for the Cadets with six kills and a .455 hitting percentage.

Army had control of the set from the start leading 8-4 at the Leopards' first timeout. Out of the timeout, the Black Knights went on a 4-0. Army capitalized on Lafayette's attacking errors and maintained its own composure to make the score 19-11. Fixemer played a key role in the Cadets' attacking as she tallied seven kills in the set. Army took the set 25-19, holding the Leopards to a .056 hitting percentage.

The Black Knights opened set three with three consecutive kills, before Lafayette answered back with one. The teams traded points until Karnig fired off two consecutive kills to give Army the 15-12 lead. The Cadets showed dominance at the net, recording the next three kills and a block. Lafayette bounced back, taking advantage of Army's errors, making the score 24-22 in favor of Army. The Leopards' won the set 27-25 to take the 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set opened with a 3-0 run by the Cadets, highlighted with a service ace from Karnig. Lafayette did not go down easy, going on a 3-0 scoring run to take a 8-4 lead. The teams traded kills, but attacking errors hurt the Black Knights. Army took a second timeout, trailing 16-10 to regain composure. A kill from Savannah Bray ignited a 4-0 scoring run, helping cut Lafayette's lead to 23-21. Ultimately, Army fell 25-22 to the Leopards to drop the match 3-1.

Coach's Corner
"Credit to Lafayette, they played very well and were gritty. We had our chances to close sets, but we didn't do that today. I thought Paige [Fixemer] and Allanah [Cutler] helped us put the ball down and Sayler [Butters] played tough defense, but we needed everyone to perform today, and we didn't. The league is tough this year, so we must play every team at the best of our abilities. We will get a great week of practice and work to get back in the winning column." – head coach Alma Kovaci Lee

Inside the Box Score