Volleyball Swept by Illinois State After Gritty Performance

Friday, September 6

St. Louis, MO

5:00 PM

Army West Point

2-3,0-0Patriot

Illinois State

3-3,0-0MVC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Army West Point	20	20	30	0
Illinois St.	25	25	32	3

Volleyball Swept by Illinois State After Gritty Performance

September 06, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Army Volleyball faced off with the Illinois State Redbirds Friday evening in their second match of the Saint Louis Invitational. The Black Knights fought valiantly for their first win of the weekend, but the Redbirds took the match in three sets.

Match Recap
Army volleyball entered their second match of the Saint Louis Invitational ready to earn their first win of the tournament. The Black Knights came out swinging right out of the gate and playing through to a 3-3 tie after kills from Chloe Murakami and Tatum Grimes which preceded a staunch block from Grimes and Juliette Myrick.

The two squads stayed in-step with each other as the first frame continued, holding within just a handful of points of one another as both sides racked up kills left and right.

After kills from Wallace Grimes brought the match to 21-19 in the Redbirds' favor, a three-point run brought Illinois State to their first set point opportunity of the night. Murakami put a kill down to hold the Redbirds off, but the designated home team secured the first set of the match at 25-20 on a Black Knight's attacking error.

Illinois State jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second frame as they carried the momentum with them from the first set, but a 5-2 run from the Black Knights cut their lead to just one at 9-8 with kills from Wallace and Myrick.

The Redbirds found another gear and posted a 4-0 run to find a 13-8 lead before Army's squad battled back to their first lead of the set at 19-18 with kills from Grimes, Myrick, and Michelle Parker.

A six-point run from Illinois State gave them their next set point opportunity of the second frame. Myrick teamed up with Breelyn Bender for a block to hold the Redbirds off, but a kill from Illinois State ended the second frame 25-20.

The Black Knights refused to back down, matching the Redbirds step for step as the third set began. After Illinois State took the first point of the match on a service error from Army, Wallace continued her offensive onslaught with a kill to bring the teams tied for the first time in the third set.

The two teams battled viciously in the third frame, reaching a tie 22 times in the third set alone.

Illinois State began to pull away from the stalemate after the 16-16 tie, picking up two points to the Black Knights' one four times to earn their first match point opportunity of the set at 19-24.

Army's squad put up an unbelievable fight, warding off not one, not two, but five Illinois State match point opportunities with incredible efforts from the whole team and a seamless offense that was perfect through the last points of the match to a 24-24 tie before taking the lead and earning a 25-24 set point opportunity of their own with a kill from Wallace.

The two squads engaged in a battle of wills and an offensive spectacle as the teams traded kills back and forth until a pair of Redbird blocks ended the third set 32-30 and sealed the match for Illinois State.

Black Knight Bullet Points

Senior Kingsley Wallace put up a career-high and match-leading 15 kills in Friday's match. With zero attacking errors, Wallace hit a career-high and match-leading .600 – her most efficient match in which she's recorded 10 or more kills.
The Black Knights put up an incredible showing – outperforming the Redbirds in kills (48 to 42), total attempts (119 to 110), hitting percentage (.235 to .227), and assists (45 to 41), yet tying with the designated home team in digs at 43 and sitting only four blocks behind Illinois State's nine blocks with five of their own.
Chloe Murakami joined Wallace in the double-digit kill column with 11 kills of her own on the night – her second-highest tally of the season.
Mackenzie Lynch led the backcourt on both sides as the only player in the match to collect double-digit digs – totaling 11 digs over the three-set match.
Sophomore setter Juliette Myrick tallied her second-highest assist total of the season with 25 assists.
Both teams proved efficient at scoring points throughout the match. Of the 152 total points scored in the match, 90 of them came from kills – nearly 60% of all points scored in the match.
The incredible fight for dominance at the end of the third set boasted 12 total set opportunities for both squads with eight chances for the Redbirds and four for the Black Knights.

Coach's Corner
"We played tough today, especially in the third set," commented Head Coach Alma Kovaci Lee. "These Midwest teams are really good and we are learning how to be resilient and tough as a team. I am confident that we are better today than we were yesterday."

"Kingsley [Wallace] was unbelievable today. She continues to put up great numbers and carry our team when it matters," Kovaci Lee continued. "Everyone that went into the game did their job. When we play like we did in that last set great things happen."

Up Next
Army's squad will take on the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday, Sept. 7^th for their final match at the Saint Louis Invitational. First serve is set for 12:30pm ET.

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.