Sept. 13, 2006

Box Score

WASHINGTON - Christina Nash (Princeton, Fla./Coral Reef) had 10 kills and 33 assists to lead the American University women's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Morgan State Wednesday night in Bender Arena. The win puts the Eagles' record at 5-5 and drops the Lady Bears to 4-5.

The match was close throughout as neither team held a lead of more than eight. American struggled to start the match, hitting just .077 in the first game, which the Lady Bears took 30-25. The Eagles' attack rebounded for the remainder of the match as they took the final three games for the win. Rubena Sukaj (Tirana, Albania/Asim Vokshi) slammed seven kills in the second game to give American a much-needed cushion for the 30-28 win. Sukaj added six more kills and Chelsa Brooks (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) had three kills and a solo block as AU took the 30-26 victory in the third game. Brooks, Nash and Julia Borecka (Bielsko-Biala, Poland/Iliceum IM. Mikotaja Kopernika) each had four kills in the fourth and decisive game as an Elizabeth Maloney (Toronto, Ontario/Richview C.I.) service ace sealed the win for AU at 30-26.

"It was a great match, every game went down to the wire," head coach Barry Goldberg said. "We just had a few more kills at the end. Nash had a very nice finish that helped us get through the match with a win."

Sukaj totaled 17 kills to lead four Eagles in double-digit kills. Defensively, Brooks was a force at the net with two solo blocks and block assists apiece while libero Ivana Cebakova (Brno, Czech Republic/Ludvika Danka) had a four-game season-high 26 digs. Service errors continued to be a problem for the Eagles as they amassed 12 in the match.

American will be on the road for the next two weeks as they head to the Big Red Invitational this weekend at Cornell and then open Patriot League play on the road at Lehigh and Lafayette next week.