Army Tops Holy Cross in Five Sets; Advances to Title Game

Friday, April 2

Hamilton, NY

6 PM

Army West Point

4-2,4-2Patriot

Holy Cross

5-5,5-5Patriot

Army West Point

Holy Cross

Army Tops Holy Cross in Five Sets; Advances to Title Game

April 02, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – For the second consecutive season, the Army West Point volleyball team will be playing in the Patriot League championship game.

After dropping the first and third sets, Army battled back to top Holy Cross in a five-set thriller in Friday evening's Patriot League semifinal match at Cotterell Court.

"We were definitely a little bit tense to start out, but give credit to Holy Cross. They are a very good team and they play very good defense. They are very scrappy. But I'm proud of our fight and I'm proud of our character," Army head coach Alma Kovaci Lee said.

The first set was back-and-forth to start with neither team scoring more than two consecutive points near the midway point. The Crusaders went on an 8-2 run to create some separation and go ahead 17-11. The Black Knights went on a 4-0 run to cut Holy Cross's lead to two, but the Crusaders managed to close out the first set with a 25-18 win.

Army dominated in the second set with a .348 hitting percentage. Eckford led the way with six kills in the frame, as the Black Knights took the set 25-14.

The Black Knights led 8-3 to start the third set, but Holy Cross worked to cut the Cadets' lead to 17-16. From that point, the Crusaders went on a 9-1 run to take set three.

"We always talk about not worrying how many points the opponent is getting," Kocavi Lee said. "We really just focus on little games to five and scoring a little more with our serve and continuing to mix up our shots."

The fourth set was close at the start, as the Black Knights clung to a 15-14 lead. Army, however, closed out the set on a 10-2 run to claim the fourth.

The Black Knights used a 5-0 run in the final set to create some separation and managed to take the set 15-12.

"We're going to celebrate this win tonight," Kovaci Lee said. "I think it's important to do that and tomorrow we're going to go play for the championship. I know our team is going to fight tough."

"We're ready to fight. We're going to rest up tonight and we're going to come back tomorrow with that winning mentality and we're going to come in really strong," senior setter Hannah Presley added.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

This is the fifth time under Kovaci Lee's guidance that the Black Knights have advanced to the Patriot League championship game.
Army has now won four straight contests.
Cate Buckingham paced the way with 12 kills, while Monica Eckford was second on the team with 10.
Presley had a match-high 37 assists.
Ana Oglivie led the team with 22 digs.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will take on host Colgate Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Patriot League championship. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.