Black Knights Down Eagles

Saturday, October 9

West Point, NY

4 PM

Army West Point

12-5,6-2Patriot

American

9-10,3-4Patriot

American

Army West Point

October 09, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

MATCH 17
SCORE	Army 3, American 2
RECORDS	Army (12-5, 6-2) \| American (9-10, 3-4)
LOCATION	Gillis Field House

WEST POINT, N.Y. --- Army West Point volleyball (12-5, 6-2) completed the weekend sweep by winning 3-2 over American (9-10, 3-4) on Saturday afternoon at Gillis Field House.

Army finished the match with 69 kills compared to American's 48 with four Cadets finishing with double-digit kills and two recording double-doubles. Savannah Bray notched her sixth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 22 digs. Emmy Barnhorst finished with 19 kills, a season-best, and a .400 hitting percentage, while Paige Fixemer followed with 18 kills and a .433 hitting percentage. Allanah Cutler also notched double-digit kills with 10.

Sayler Butters played a key role on defense for the Cadets with 28 digs, one short of her season high. Diana Ethridge did a phenomenal job on the court for the Black Knights recording a season-high of 61 assists along with 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

How It Happened

American was dominant at the start of the first set leading 12-5 at Army's first timeout. The Cadets found their groove to cut the lead to 21-12. Barhorst was strong at the net with five kills for the team, followed by Bray with four. Army could not fix their attacking errors allowing American to win the match 25-18.

The Eagles has the lead at the start of the set, but Army fought back to keep them in reach. Cutler led the offense with five kills, but multiple players contributed to attack. Army went short scoring runs to take a 20-18 lead over American. Cutler ended the set with a kill to push the Black Knights to a 25-23 set win.

The Eagles had an earlier lead out of the gate leading 7-3. American capitalized on Army's errors to maintain their lead. Fixemer came alive in the third set going five-for-five on kills, to help Army stay in the set. The Cadets got the match within one, 24-23 but were unable to stop American's last kill for set point.

The fourth set was a trading of points between the teams until Army found momentum to lead 13-10. Fixemer and Barnhorst were dominant at the net with five kills each, followed by Bray with three. American could not slow down Army's offense as the Black Knights went on an 8-0 scoring run to win the set 25-13. The Cadets finished the set with a .429 hitting percentage and five service aces.

Barnhorst opened the fifth and final set with a monster kill to set the tone. Army had control of the set leading 4-1 at American's first timeout. The Eagles battled back, but the Cadets powered past to win the set 15-11 and take the match 3-2. Barnhorst led the team with three kills in the fifth set.

Coach's Corner

"As coaches we are so incredibly proud of our team. American scouted us very well and played high-level volleyball. At the beginning of the match, we were just a step behind, but the team regrouped, refocused and played with grit! The middles did extremely well, and people stepped up when needed. Sayler [Butters] played tough defense. It's nice to finish with a W when you know that not all things are going your way. The team found a way to win, and I am so proud of them." – Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee.

The Cadet's Corner

"Our team came into this weekend with the mentality that we needed to win both these matches to secure our ranking. Saying it was one thing but I think we really showed our commitment to it in this game. Even though we didn't start off the way we wanted to, we didn't let it decide the outcome. We focused on minimizing our errors and pushing our passes to the net. In the end, we knew it would come down to how gritty we could be when the score got tight. Couldn't be more proud of the girls around me. " - Sayler Butters

Inside the Box Score