Army Splits the First Day of the Black Knight Invitational

Friday, September 2

West Point, NY

11 a.m.

Army West Point

1-3,0-0Patriot

St. Francis College Brooklyn

2-3,0-0NEC

St. Francis Brooklyn

Army West Point

Army Splits the First Day of the Black Knight Invitational

September 02, 2022 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MATCH 4 & 5
SCORE	Army 3 , SFC 0 Army 0, #20 Kansas 3
RECORDS	Army (1-4,0-0 PL) SFC (2-4, 0-0 NEC) Kansas (5-0, 0-0 Big 12)
LOCATION	West Point, NY
INVITATIONAL	Black Knight Invitational

WEST POINT, N.Y. --- Army West Point Volleyball split the first day of the Black Knight Invitational on Friday. The Black Knights swept St. Francis College 3-0 to start the day but fell to #20 Kansas that night, 3-0.

Diana Ethridge recorded two double-doubles finishing with 60 assists and 21 digs for Army. Savannah Bray racked up 22 kills, 12 digs, and three blocks. Paige Fixemer finished with 21 kills on a .357 hitting percentage. Riley Parchment added on 22 digs and six services aces for the Black Knights.

MATCH ONE (Army 3-0 | 25-14, 25-18, 25-13)

Army kept control of the match against St. Francis College to pick up its first sweep of the 2022 season. Bray led Army with 12 kills and seven digs. Ethridge notched a double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs. Fixemer hit on a .500 clip, throwing down 11 kills for Army.

The Terriers earned the first two points of the set before Army's offense came alive. The Black Knights jumped to a 10-4 lead, with the help of three kills from Mackenzie Lynch to force St. Francis into the first timeout. Army's offense maintained its pace for the rest of the set. Army secured the 25-14 victory over the Terriers. Fixemer led with six kills, while the team finished with 15 kills on a .346 clip.

The teams traded points in the opening of the second set. Army rallied a 3-0 scoring run to jump to a 10-7 lead. The Black Knights' errors allowed St. Francis to stay in the set, 14-13. Lynch threw down a kill late in the set that set off a 4-0 scoring run for the Black Knights (18-13). Army was able to keep control of the set and claim the 25-18 victory. Bray and Fixemer each had three block assists while Bray contributed five kills as well.

Allanah Cutler threw down the first kill of the set and Army maintained the lead for the rest of the it. The Cadets' offense stayed strong and reached 15 first from a kill by Fixemer, 15-11. A few points later, Bray had a kill that ignited a 7-0 scoring for Army to take the set 25-13 for the match victory. Cutler and Bray had four kills each.

MATCH TWO (Kansas 3-0 | 25-21, 25-23, 25-20)

Army fought in every set causing 23 tied scores during it, but ultimately fell to #20 Kansas in three sets. Fixemer led Army with 10 kills, four digs, one block and one service ace. Bray also recorded 10 kills along with five digs and one block. Ethridge had her second double-double of the day with 28 assists and 11 digs.

Kansas jumped in front early, leading 8-3 at the first timeout. Army took advantage of Kansas's errors to gain some momentum in the set. Bray and Cutler each threw down two kills to get Army within two of the Jayhawks, 12-10. Fixemer came alive with two kills to tie the set at 13-13. The Cadets stayed on the Jayhawks heels the rest of the set but had trouble maintaining their offense. Army ultimately fell 21-25 to Kansas.

The second set was back and forth from the start. Jasmine Grant and Ethridge combined for a block that put Army up 15-13 on Kansas. The Jayhawks fought back out of the timeout to take a 20-18 lead over Army. Lynch helped Army stay close behind Kansas by throwing down two kills (22-21) but it was not enough as Kansas walked away with the 25-23 set victory. Lynch and Bray each had five kills in the set. Grant contributed to three blocks for the Black Knights.

Army had a strong start to the third set with five service aces before the first timeout called by Kansas (9-5). Army's errors allowed Kansas to stay in the set, as the Jayhawks rallied to take a 19-16 lead over the Black Knights. Army battled to stay in the set, but its errors allowed Kansas to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Army picked up its first win of the season.
Sayler Butters had 19 digs and two service aces for Army.

QUOTABLES
"Today was a great day on the court. We learned a lot about what our potential is as a team this season. We played with confidence and grit but now we know what it's truly going to take to be a championship team. We are learning to minimize our error and adapt quicker to the high-level teams we've been playing this preseason. Every game has been a learning lesson on the things we have to tighten up in order to succeed, and we are taking them head on as a team. Each of the 22 girls are locked in and ready for what's to come." – Sayler Butters

"I am very proud of our team's fight tonight. I thought we played tough against Kansas, a top-20 team. They were very physical and at times it was easy to see the physicality take over. We put everything we had in this battle and the experience only makes us better. We learned a lot about ourselves, and the best is yet to come! This team is so much fun to coach." – Alma Kovaci Lee

UP NEXT
Army takes on Temple and Uconn on Saturday, Sept. 3, the second day of the Black Knight Invitational.