WEST POINT – Army West Point volleyball (8-4, 2-1) earned a straight-set victory over Colgate (6-6, 1-2) on Friday night at Gillis Field House, taking down the Raiders, 26-24, 30-28, 25-18.
With the win, Army earns its first sweep over the Raiders since Oct. 28, 2023, when the Black Knights swept the Raiders inside Gillis Field House. Army produced 50 kills and hit .241 for the match, saving its best offensive performance for the third set with 16 kills and a .361 hitting percentage.
Kennedy Jones and Marlee Lightsey led a balanced Army attack with 11 kills apiece. Jones committed just one error on 24 swings to hit .417, while Lightsey added 12 digs, two service aces and a block.
Michelle Parker finished with nine kills on 20 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage, while Janie Deapen added nine kills and nine digs.
Army faced an early deficit in the opening set as Colgate built a 14-9 advantage. The Black Knights began to work their way back behind Michelle Parker, Marlee Lightsey and Janie Deapen. Lightsey delivered a kill and service ace during the push before Parker’s kill cut the deficit to 17-14.
Army continued to chip away, using Colgate attack errors and a Deapen kill to eventually pull even at 19. The teams traded points from there before Army moved ahead 24-23 on a Kennedy Jones kill. Colgate tied the frame at 24, but Lightsey responded with back-to-back kills to give the Black Knights a 26-24 opening-set victory. Parker led Army with five kills in the frame, while Lightsey added four.
The second set developed into an extended back-and-forth battle that featured 17 ties and seven lead changes. Army turned an early 6-5 deficit into an 8-6 advantage behind kills from Lightsey, Naomi Chinchar and Deapen, but Colgate responded with an 8-2 run to take a 14-10 lead.
Deapen helped spark Army’s response, recording two kills and a service ace as the Black Knights pulled within 15-13. Nicole Stroud followed with an ace before a Colgate attack error tied the frame at 16.
Later, Jones and Parker delivered consecutive kills to erase another two-point deficit and make it 18-18.
Neither side was able to create separation down the stretch. Army fought off Colgate’s set-point opportunity at 24-23 with a Lightsey kill before Stroud’s service ace gave the Black Knights a 25-24 lead.
The teams continued trading points until the score reached 28-28. Ryan Leclair then delivered an ace to put Army at set point before Breelyn Bender finished the marathon frame with a kill for the 30-28 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Army carried the momentum into the third, with Jones recording kills on each of the first two rallies. A Lightsey-Parker block followed to give the Black Knights an early 3-0 advantage, but Colgate answered and eventually moved ahead 12-9.
The Black Knights responded with their decisive run of the match. Jones recorded five kills during an 8-1 Army surge, including four during a 6-0 run that turned a 13-10 deficit into a 16-13 advantage. Stroud capped the run with a service ace before Jones added another kill to stretch the lead to 17-13.
Army continued to pull away behind Lightsey, Myrick and Deapen. Lightsey added a kill to make it 19-14 before Myrick and Parker combined for a block.
Deapen followed with a kill, and Lightsey’s service ace pushed the advantage to 23-15. Myrick ultimately put away the final point to close the 25-18 victory and complete the sweep.
Army hit a match-best .361 in the third set, totaling 16 kills against just three errors. Jones was nearly perfect in the frame, putting down seven kills on eight attacks without an error for an .875 hitting percentage.
