Volleyball Battles at the San Diego State Invitational

Friday, August 26

San Diego, CA

1 p.m. EST

Army West Point

0-1

University of California

1-0

California

Army

Volleyball Battles at the San Diego State Invitational

August 26, 2022 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MATCH 1 & 2
SCORE	Army 1 , Cal 3 Army 1, UCSD 3
RECORDS	Army (0-2,0-0 PL) Cal (1-0, 0-0 PAC12) UCSD (1-0, 0-0 Big West)
LOCATION	San Diego, CA
INVITATIONAL	San Diego State Invitational

SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Army West Point Volleyball (0-2) battled in the first two contests of the 2022 season at the San Diego State Invitational on Friday, but ultimately fell to California(1-0) 3-1 and UC San Diego (1-0) 2-1.

MATCH ONE (CAL 3-1: 25-16, 17-25, 25-13, 32-30)

Errors got the best of Army in the first match as the Black Knights fell 3-1 to California. Paige Fixemer led the team with 16 kills, one assist, three service aces and two solo blocks. Savannah Bray followed with 15 kills and 14 digs, notching her first double-double of the season.

Army started the first set strong but trailed 11-14 at the first timeout. Attacking errors hurt the Black Knights and allowed the Golden Bears to run away with the lead. California claimed the first set 25-16 to lead 1-0 in the match.

The Black Knights had a slow start to the second set but bounced back on a 4-0 scoring run for a 6-4 lead. Bray was stellar for the Cadets in the set recording five kills. Mackenzie Lynch contributed to Army's offense with five kills as well. Army maintained a healthy lead most of the set, with its largest lead being eight points. Army claimed the set 25-17 to tie the match up at 1-1.

California's offense gave Army trouble in the third set. When the first timeout was called, Army trailed 3-7 to California. Attacking errors hurt the Cadets and allowed the Golden Bears to jump to a 18-9 lead. Fixemer looked to make a last second push throwing down two kills, but California ran away with a 25-13 victory.

The four set was a battle as there were six lead changes and 17 ties during it. California jumped in front early before Army rallied a scoring run to tie the set at 4-4. The Golden Bears pulled away with the lead at 16-13 but Fixemer slowed their momentum with a kill and a service ace. Diana Ethridge recorded another ace for Army that got the Cadets within one of California (20-19). Bray threw down a kill that put Army in time the set at 20-20. The set went on to have 10 more ties. California escaped with the 32-30 victory to win the match 3-1 over Army.

MATCH TWO (UCSD 3-1: 21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-23)

The Black Knights opened the match strong, but were not able to maintain the momentum falling 3-1 to UC San Diego. Allanah Cutler led the team with 14 kills on a .452 clip, while Lynch racked up 12 kills.

Army was dominant at the start of the first set, opening with a 9-0 scoring run. UC San Diego bounced back to tie things up at 9-9. Cutler threw down two kills to rally another scoring run for the Cadets (16-11). The Tritons stayed close behind making the score 24-21 before Cutler slammed down the kill that claimed the set for Army (25-21).

Errors got the best of Army in the second set, allowing UCSD to jump to a 12-7 at the first timeout. Cutler came alive out of the timeout, throwing down two kills to help Army cut the Tritons' lead to 14-12. Mistakes continued to hurt the Cadets and allowed UCSD to capture the 25-19 victory.

The teams traded points early in the set before the Tritons' offense caused trouble for the Black Knights. At the first timeout Army trailed 7-11 to UCSD. Cadets had trouble containing the Tritons' attack falling behind, 23-13. Attacking errors by Army allowed UCSD to win the set 25-15.

The fourth set was a battle as the teams were neck-and-neck the whole time. In the fourth set there were three lead changes and 10 ties. The teams were tied at 13-13, then UCSD found its groove on offense and jumped to a 26-14 lead. Army battled to stay in the set, with help from Lynch who recorded seven kills in the set. Late in the contest, Fixemer threw down a kill and followed with a solo block on the next play to get Army within one. Ireland McCauley recorded an ace to tie the set at 22-22. Army ultimately fell 23-25 to UCSD, dropping the match 1-3.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Fixemer and Lynch finished both matches with double-digit kills.
Bray recorded the first double-double of the season.
Ethridge finished the day with 88 assists.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights return for the second day of the San Diego State Invite on Saturday, Aug.27, when they take on the host #25 San Diego State at 2 p.m. EST.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point women's volleyball, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_VB and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.