Volleyball Bests Holy Cross in Five Sets

Friday, March 19

West Point, N.Y.

6 PM

Army West Point

0-0,0-0

Holy Cross

0-0,0-0

Holy Cross

Army

Volleyball Bests Holy Cross in Five Sets

March 19, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point volleyball team topped Holy Cross in a five-set thriller Friday evening at Gillis Field House.

"It felt great to come out with the win tonight," senior Hannah Presley said. "We definitely had some points where we struggled. After the second set we were up so much, so it was tough to come back struggle in the third and fourth sets, but I'm glad we fought back and got the win."

Late in the fifth set, the Black Knights were down 14-11, but managed to claw back to win the set 21-19.

"That was the moment that our hot hitters got hot," Presley noted. "Once that light lit up in everybody's head, we had full confidence going forward."

"At that point, you just go for it," senior captain Monica Eckford said. "You just leave it all on the court and what ever happens, happens. They always say you're swinging on that last point. It doesn't matter what the result is. From there, I think you saw Paige (Fixemer) swinging and everybody else had a little more confidence."

Army took the first set 25-20 and then dominated in the second with a 25-10 win. Through the first two sets, Allanah Cutler had a total of 12 kills.

The Crusaders fought back to take the third set, 25-21, and the fourth, 25-16.

The Black Knights found themselves in a similar situation to their season-opener against Colgate heading into the fifth set. After pushing ahead 2-0 in that game, they dropped three consecutive sets. Army refused for that to be the outcome on Friday.

"We've grown so much from that first game and it has shown," Eckford said. "I think we actually felt what it's like to be gritty. It can be tough to replicate that experience in practice. Today was a true test and we executed."

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Army had four members finish with double-digit kills: Cutler (19), Paige Fixemer (18), Eckford (14) and Mackenzie Karnig (12).
Presley finished with 53 assists.
Army is now 3-2 on the season.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will take on the Crusaders at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday in Worcester, Mass.