Nov. 3, 2007
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball
team came out on top in Saturday's battle of the Patriot League's
top-two teams, defeating Colgate University, 3-2. The teams entered
Saturday's match tied atop the PL standings with identical 10-1
conference records and needed the win to help secure home-court
advantage for the PL Tournament.
The victory improves American's record to 21-7 overall and 11-1
in the PL, while Colgate fell to 15-11 overall and 10-2 in the
league. Game scores in the match were 31-33, 30-21, 30-25, 26-30,
15-10. AU out hit the Raiders in all five games and finished with a
hitting percentage of .320. In a statistical anomaly, The Eagles
hitting percentages in games one and four, which they lost, were
considerably higher than in games two and three, which they won. In
total, AU scored 80 kills while committing 23 errors and blocked a
season-high 14 Raider attacks.
In typical fashion, Rubena Sukaj stepped
up for AU in what may have been one of the most important matches
of the Eagles' season. Sukaj recorded 30 kills in the match and
aced the Raiders 10 times, earning the junior her ninth
double-double of the year. This was Sukaj's fourth match this
season of 30 or more kills and her aces total set a new
single-match career high. Ivana Cebakova and
Tara
Stradling also notched double-doubles in the winning effort.
Cebakova tied a career best set earlier this season by landing 17
kills and dug 14 balls. Stradling on the other hand dished out 20
assists for the Eagles and tallied 10 digs. Christina Nash, Claire Recht
and Cynammon
Burns were also key contributors Saturday. Nash recorded 45
assists and six kills, Recht totaled 10 kills and seven blocks and
Burns dug 11 balls.
With the win, American is now in the drivers seat heading into
the final weekend of conference play. If the Eagles can return from
their road trips to Lehigh and Lafayette next week with two
victories they will capture their seventh-consecutive PL Regular
Season Championship and earn the right to host the PL Tournament
which starts Nov. 16. In a tune-up for those matches, AU will host
Virginia Commonwealth this Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. This will be
the Eagles final regular season match inside Bender Arena where
they have gone 14-1 this season. Tuesday's match will also serve as
Senior Night for the Eagles. American's three upperclassmen, Chelsa Brooks,
Stradling and Logan Striebel,
will each be honored for their years spent with the team in a
pre-match ceremony.
