Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
19-9,11-5Patriot
American
24-4,15-1Patriot
Volleyball Falls in Patriot League Championship in Nation's Capitol to American
November 23, 2025 | Volleyball
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Army West Point volleyball (19-9, 11-5) battled tough yet fell in the Patriot League Championship on Sunday, falling to the American University Eagles (24-4, 15-1), 0-3.
Despite the loss, two Black Knights received Patriot League All-Tournament Team honors. Army's two senior outsides, Mackenzie Lynch and Chloe Murakami, received the honors.
Army was swept by American 17-25, 12-25 and 18-25.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Army opened the match with steady early offense. Murakami delivered a key service ace at 7–11 that helped spark a brief run, and Army's block produced a couple of important point-saving touches.
Myrick and Lynch connected well in transition, and Myrick later posted a strong kill to close the gap to 15–17. However, American's front-row pressure and timely blocking created separation late.
Despite solid ball control and several well-placed swings from Lynch, Army couldn't slow the Eagles' 8–2 finishing surge and dropped the set 25–17.
Army came out aggressive in set two, taking leads of 4–3, 5–4, and 7–7. Chinchar added a sharp service ace to tie things at 4–4, and Army's offense was fluid in the opening stages with Myrick distributing effectively.
Lynch contributed solid swings to keep the Cadets in range at 10–17.
However, mid-set serve-receive pressure from American created a decisive run that broke the frame open. Army showed resilience with late kills from Lynch and momentarily slowed the momentum with a Murakami-to-Lynch connection, but American's consistent side-out rhythm closed the set 25–12.
Army opened the third set with steady ball control with Murakami and Myrick establishing strong setter-hitter rhythm. Another kill from Murakami helped keep the Black Knights within a point at 7–8, and Myrick added a clean kill shortly afterward to keep Army in the chase.
As the set progressed, Murakami became Army's most reliable offensive engine, assisting and finishing points during a stretch that included points from Shattan and Blackburn.
Army's defensive touches improved mid-set, and a pair of American attack errors brought the Black Knights back within 12–15.
American answered with a serving run, but Army responded with back-to-back kills from Murakami and Lynch, with Myrick setting in rhythm.
Army made a final push late: Lynch delivered kills to bring the Cadets to 15 and 16 points, and Murakami's well-placed service ace tightened the score to 24–18. However, American converted the final swing to take the set 25–18 and secure the match.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- Chloe Murakami led Army with 10 kills on 23 attempts for a .217 hitting percentage. She added two assists, two service aces and five digs, finishing with a team-high 12.0 points.
- Mackenzie Lynch scored eight kills and hit .130 on 23 swings, while adding three digs and finished with 8.0 total points.
- Juliette Myrick posted three kills and 13 assists, while also contributing two blocks and three digs. She totaled 4.0 points in the match.
- Naomi Chinchar recorded eight assists, 1 service ace, and 2 digs while playing in all three sets.
- She also had 2 service errors and finished with 1.0 point.
- Michelle Parker delivered three kills on 12 attempts and added 2 blocks. She ended the match with 4.0 total points.
- Nicole Stroud tallied two assists, three digs, and 1 reception error while playing back-row minutes.
- Janie Deapen added three kills, hit .111, and contributed one block and two digs. She totaled 3.5 points for the Black Knights.
- Army recorded 28 kills on 90 total attacks and hit .100 for the match. Army tallied 25 total assists, led by Myrick's 13 and Chinchar's 8.
- Army posted six blocks assists and collected 20 digs overall.
- Army totaled 34.0 points, with Murakami (12.0) and Lynch (8.0) being the top individual point scorers.
Recapping the 2025 Season
With the loss, the Black Knights' 2025 season comes to a close, with the Black Knights finishing 19-9 overall and 11-5 in Patriot League play.
Army finished 6-3 in non-conference play. They finished 2-1 in every tournament they participated in for a second-place finish. Their wins encompass victories over Akron (3-0), Green Bay (3-2), Rider (3-1), Binghamton (3-1), Stony Brook (3-1) and Bryant (3-1).
The Black Knights went on to finish Patriot League play 11-5, good to finish third in the final league play standings. The Black Knights swept the season series with four of their Patriot League opponents: Loyola Maryland, Holy Cross, Navy and Lafayette.
The Black Knights and Midshipmen renewed their rivalry on Sept. 19th for the 44th annual Star Match as part of the Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA. The Black Knights went on to defeat the Midshipmen in four sets. Navy would claim the first set 25-23, but Army came storming back to claim the next three in Wesley Brown Field House, 25-20, 24-14 and 25-22 to take the 3-1 win.
At the end of the regular season, Army saw three players earn a spot on the 2025 Patriot League All-League Volleyball Teams.
Two players, Mackenzie Lynch and Chloe Murakami, earned spots on the All-League First Team, while Juliette Myrick was placed on the All-League Second Team.
In the Patriot League Tournament, the Black Knights made a run to the Patriot League Championship for the second-straight season. Army started their postseason run with a 3-0 win at home in Gillis Field House against the No. 6 Lehigh University Mountain Hawks.
Then, in the semifinal round, the Black Knights avenged their championship game loss in 2024, besting the No. 2 seed Colgate University Raiders, 3-2. The team then fell in the championship to the American Eagles, 0-3.
Two Black Knights received Patriot League All-Tournament Team honors: senior outside hitters Mackenzie Lynch and Chloe Murakami.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point women's volleyball, follow the Black Knights on X and Instagram at @ArmyWP_VB and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
