BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland's Molly Jarvis set a school record with 13 total blocks on Friday night, helping the Greyhounds rally from a two-set deficit to beat the visiting U.S. Military Academy, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 15-9 in Patriot League action.
 
Jarvis' 13 blocks are the most by a Patriot League player this season and tied for fourth-most by any player in NCAA Division I. She broke the school record (for both total blocks and block assists since 25-point scoring came into effect in 2008) set in 2010 by Jac Bullock who had 10 in a five-set match against Manhattan College.
 
Jarvis was a part of 13 of the Greyhounds' 17.5 total blocks, just a half-block off the school record of 18 set earlier this season in a win over Towson University.
 
While Loyola's block was critical in the game, it was improved hitting over the final three sets that contributed just as much. The Greyhounds (7-11, overall, 2-3 Patriot League) hit just .042 in the first two sets that Army West Point (7-11, 2-3) won. They improved that number to .235 in the third and .318 in the fifth, hitting .196 in the sets they won.
 
Both teams had more than 100 digs in the contest, combining for 205. Katie Forsythe had her second-straight match with 30 or more, leading Loyola with 34 as four players had 16 or higher. Ann Ernst had 20 digs, Abby Hamilton, 17, and Molly Werts added 16. Ana Ogilvie tallied 38 of Army West Point's 102 to lead all players.
 
Ernst had the second 20-20 match of her career and the 2018 season, leading all players with 21 kills, while hitting .240, to go with her 20 digs. Hamilton added 12 kills for Loyola.
 
Army West Point fell behind 6-0 in the first set and was down 11-5 before scoring the next seven points to lead 12-11 on a kill by Sydney Morriss. Loyola would tie the set momentarily at 12-12, but the Black Knights scored the next two and did not trail while going on to a 25-19 set win.
 
The score was tied 11 times in the early points of the second set, but Allie Strong had one of her 20 kills for the Black Knights, and they were in front until Loyola tied the score at 20-20 on Werts' second-straight service ace. The teams traded points until they were tied again at 22-22 after an Army West Point service error before the Black Knights reeled off the last three points to go up two sets to none.
 
Loyola trailed 11-8 in the third, but a Hamilton kill sided out for the Greyhounds, and she then went back to serve six-straight points to push Loyola up, 14-11 when Jarvis put away a kill. Army West Point drew even on a Loyola ball-handling error at 16-16, but Mackenzie Fedota had a kill for sideout, and Loyola scored three in a row to build a lead it would not relinquish to push the match to a fourth set.
 
The Greyhounds built a five-point lead in the fourth, 10-5, but Army West Point closed to within 10-8 on two-straight blocks before the Greyhounds went on a 5-2 run to go up by five once more, 15-10, on an Ernst kill.
 
A Hamilton kill later in the set made it 22-17 Greyhounds, but a service error handed the ball back to the Black Knights who had three kills by three different players before Nikki Lum served an ace to tie the set at 22-22.
 
Hamilton and Jarvis teamed for a block to put Loyola back in front for the short-term, but Army West Point scored two in a row to gain match-point at 24-23. Ernst ended a rally with a kill to keep Loyola alive, and a Black Knights' attack error gave Loyola set-point.
 
This time, it was Strong who had a kill for Army West Point to prolong the set, and Emmy Barnhorst tallied another kill to give the Black Knights their second match-point opportunity. Loyola again ducked defeat with an Ernst kill, and Haley Puddy banged a kill to put the Greyhounds in front, 27-26. Army tied the set at 27-27 on a Barnhorst kill, but Ernst had a kill and an Army West Point attack went long, giving the Greyhounds a 29-27 set-win.
 
Strong and Courtney Horace had kills on the first two points of the fifth to give Army West Point a 2-0 lead, but Loyoal responded with five in a row, an Ernst kill at 5-2 forcing an Army Wst Point timeout.
 
A Horace attack error made it 8-4, and back-to-back blocks by Ernst and Fedota put Loyola in front by six, 10-4.
 
Army West Point got as close as five from there until the end of the match, but Hamilton ended it with a sideout kill through the middle, making it a Greyhounds victory.
 
Loyola will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when it hosts College of the Holy Cross at 4 o'clock in Reitz Arena.