Army West Point Athletics
Friday, September 5
West Point, N.Y.
6 p.m.
Army West Point
vs
Hofstra
Photo by: Carrie Johnston
Volleyball Prepares to Host Black Knights Invitational
September 04, 2025 | Volleyball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point volleyball will make its 2025 debut in Gillis Field House for the Black Knights Invitational, hosting the Hofstra University Pride, the Rider University Broncs and Binghamton University Bearcats.
The Black Knights will open their home tournament on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. ET with Hofstra, who is making its second straight appearance in the tournament after finishing 2-1 in West Point last season.
Next, Army will take on Rider for the first time since 2003 on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 3 p.m. ET, with the game marking the first time the Broncs come to West Point since 1994.
To close the Black Knights Invitational will come to a conclusion on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. ET when Army will take on Binghamton for the first time since 2019, the Bearcats' last appearance in the Black Knights Invitational.
For fans who can't make it to Gillis Field House, all three games will stream live on ESPN+.
ARMY STORYLINES:
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND: The Black Knights opened the weekend 2-1 while competing at the Summit Hospitality Invitational. The wins included a dominant sweep over Akron and a thrilling five-set win over Green Bay. Mackenzie Lynch led Army's offense while Annette Lee protected the back line, with both of their efforts earning them All-Tournament Team honors.
MEET THE LYNCH-PIN: Senior outside hitter Mackenzie Lynch served as the primary driving force in the Black Knights' 2-1 weekend at the Summit Hospitality Tournament. In Army's two wins, Lynch led the match in kills, earning 18 against Akron and 20 versus Green Bay. Currently, she leads the team in kills (46), kills per set (4.18), points (49.0) and points per set (4.45). She also added 24 digs and six blocks.
DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER: In the first three games of 2025, Annette Lee became a vital member of the Black Knights' back line. She finished the weekend with a team-high 54 digs, averaging 5.4 digs per set. Lee also posted match-highs in digs for both wins, tallying 18 against Akron and a career-high 27 against Green Bay. She also finished the three games with a .969 reception percentage and three service aces.
MURAKAMI MAGIC: Senior outside hitter Chloe Murakami served as the other key outside in Army's offense at the Summit Hospitality Tournament. Murakami currently is second on the team with 36 kills and 3.27 kills per set. She also added 27 digs on the weekend, the third most on the team, as well as three service aces and two blocks.
CAN'T GET PAST GRIMES: Sophomore right side Tatum Grimes led the Black Knights' blockers in the 2024 season, and she picked up right where she left off in 2025. Grimes finished the first weekend with a team-high 12 blocks, featuring one solo block. She tallied eight of her blocks in Army's third game of the season against Green Bay.
ORDER UP: The Black Knights keep the pressure high from the serving line to start 2025, totaling 17 aces in their first three games. Six Black Knights logged aces in weekend one, with Naomi Chinchar (4) leading the Black Knights. Juliette Myrick (3), Chloe Murakami (3), Annette Lee (3), Michelle Parker (2) and Nicole Stroud (2) each added aces for the Black Knights.
ONE FOR THE YOUNG GUNS: Army's 22-member roster is one of the youngest in Division I, with 77.2% underclassmen. The team returns 10 sophomores and adds seven freshmen: Hannah Hankerson, Kennedy Jones, Nathalie Tulumaris, Annette Lee, Janie Deapen, Marin Harvey and Corrine Blackburn.
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: A key to the Black Knights' success in 2025 is their blocking. Army currently has 25 blocks on the season. The team earned 16 of those 25 blocks in their five-match win over Green Bay. Tatum Grimes leads the blocking efforts with 12 blocks on the season. Michelle Parker is right behind her with 11 and Victoria Kasanganay is third with seven.
History with Hofstra
The Black Knights will open their home tournament on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. ET with Hofstra, who is making its second straight appearance in the tournament after finishing 2-1 in West Point last season.
Next, Army will take on Rider for the first time since 2003 on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 3 p.m. ET, with the game marking the first time the Broncs come to West Point since 1994.
To close the Black Knights Invitational will come to a conclusion on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. ET when Army will take on Binghamton for the first time since 2019, the Bearcats' last appearance in the Black Knights Invitational.
For fans who can't make it to Gillis Field House, all three games will stream live on ESPN+.
ARMY STORYLINES:
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND: The Black Knights opened the weekend 2-1 while competing at the Summit Hospitality Invitational. The wins included a dominant sweep over Akron and a thrilling five-set win over Green Bay. Mackenzie Lynch led Army's offense while Annette Lee protected the back line, with both of their efforts earning them All-Tournament Team honors.
MEET THE LYNCH-PIN: Senior outside hitter Mackenzie Lynch served as the primary driving force in the Black Knights' 2-1 weekend at the Summit Hospitality Tournament. In Army's two wins, Lynch led the match in kills, earning 18 against Akron and 20 versus Green Bay. Currently, she leads the team in kills (46), kills per set (4.18), points (49.0) and points per set (4.45). She also added 24 digs and six blocks.
DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER: In the first three games of 2025, Annette Lee became a vital member of the Black Knights' back line. She finished the weekend with a team-high 54 digs, averaging 5.4 digs per set. Lee also posted match-highs in digs for both wins, tallying 18 against Akron and a career-high 27 against Green Bay. She also finished the three games with a .969 reception percentage and three service aces.
MURAKAMI MAGIC: Senior outside hitter Chloe Murakami served as the other key outside in Army's offense at the Summit Hospitality Tournament. Murakami currently is second on the team with 36 kills and 3.27 kills per set. She also added 27 digs on the weekend, the third most on the team, as well as three service aces and two blocks.
CAN'T GET PAST GRIMES: Sophomore right side Tatum Grimes led the Black Knights' blockers in the 2024 season, and she picked up right where she left off in 2025. Grimes finished the first weekend with a team-high 12 blocks, featuring one solo block. She tallied eight of her blocks in Army's third game of the season against Green Bay.
ORDER UP: The Black Knights keep the pressure high from the serving line to start 2025, totaling 17 aces in their first three games. Six Black Knights logged aces in weekend one, with Naomi Chinchar (4) leading the Black Knights. Juliette Myrick (3), Chloe Murakami (3), Annette Lee (3), Michelle Parker (2) and Nicole Stroud (2) each added aces for the Black Knights.
ONE FOR THE YOUNG GUNS: Army's 22-member roster is one of the youngest in Division I, with 77.2% underclassmen. The team returns 10 sophomores and adds seven freshmen: Hannah Hankerson, Kennedy Jones, Nathalie Tulumaris, Annette Lee, Janie Deapen, Marin Harvey and Corrine Blackburn.
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: A key to the Black Knights' success in 2025 is their blocking. Army currently has 25 blocks on the season. The team earned 16 of those 25 blocks in their five-match win over Green Bay. Tatum Grimes leads the blocking efforts with 12 blocks on the season. Michelle Parker is right behind her with 11 and Victoria Kasanganay is third with seven.
History with Hofstra
- The Pride lead the series, 13-4
- Current Streak: Hofstra, 1 win
- Last Army win: Sept. 10 2022, 3-0
- Last Hofstra win: Sept. 13 2024, 3-2
- Hofstra has one game under its belt as its heads to the Black Knights Invitational, earning a 3-0 win over another team in the tournament, Binghamton.
- Izadora Stedile led the hitting efforts in the Pride's first game of the season with 12 kills while hitting .556 against the Bearcats.
- Nil Kayaalp led the digging efforts with 10 digs and a percent reception percentage. Middle Blocker Emily Nunes also earned a team-high three blocks.
- The Black Knights lead the series, 3-1
- Current Streak: Army, 3 wins
- Last Army win: Sept. 19 2003, 3-2
- Last Rider win: Nov. 20 1994, 3-2
- Rider has split its first two games to open 2025, earning a 3-1 win over Le Moyne and a 1-3 loss at Syracuse. Both games were road matches for the Broncs.
- Brynn Johnson and Kiannisha Santiago split the hitting efforts for the Broncs, both having 25 kills to start the season. Rylah Robinson comes right behind them with 23 kills.
- Keegan O'Connor leads Rider's back line with 31 digs while also having a .930 reception percentage. Molly Rohde guards the net and has a team-high 10 blocks on the season.
- The Black Knights lead the series, 6-0
- Current Streak: Army, 6 wins
- Last Army win: Sept. 13 2019, 3-0
- Last Binghamton win: N/A
- Binghamton is 0-4 to start the 2025 season, seeing losses to Fordham, UConn, Lehigh and Hofstra, with all losses being at home.
- Merima Smajlovic leads the Bearcats offense with 51 kills and 57.5 points in the first four matches while also leading the team with 48 digs.
- Hannah Olmstead leads the middle for Binghamton with a team-high 11 blocks this season and a team-best .326 hitting percentage.
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside/Libero
/ Volleyball
Pin Hitter
/ Volleyball
Right Side
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ VolleyballSummit Hospitality Tournament Recap
Friday, September 05