Oct. 17, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team defeated Bucknell on Friday night, 3-0, to extend its winning streak to nine matches. Senior Rubena Sukaj and freshman Rebecca Heath led the Eagles with 16 kills and 10 kills, respectively, while junior Ivana Cebakova notched 18 digs.

"This was a good win for us on the road," Head Coach Barry Goldberg said. "Both teams had set point in the first set and we fought through to earn the win. We found ourselves behind a few times in the third set but we battled through and found a way to win. Overall this was a good win for us on the road against a good conference team."

American (14-6, 6-0) and Bucknell battled back and forth in game one as the teams traded the lead 11 times and were tied another 11. AU jumped out to a 4-1 lead but the Bison quickly fought their way back into the match and tied the score at 6. Bucknell then took an 11-9 advantage over the Eagles before AU re-tied the score at 11 and took a 14-11 lead. Ahead by five, 20-15, American could not put the set away as Bucknell chipped away at the lead at again tied the score at 25. After trading side outs, AU earned set point at 31-30 off a Bison error and finally put the set away as Christina Nash connected with Sukaj for one of her six kills in the frame, 32-30.

AU took control of set two off the opening serve as the Eagles quickly took a 10-5 lead. Heath recorded one of her two service aces in the match on the opening serve to help AU to the advantage. American and the Bison played evenly for the much of the remainder of the frame with AU's lead reaching as many as six and Bucknell's deficit never dipping below three. With a 22-17 advantage, AU rattled off three-consecutive points, including kills from Claire Recht and Sukaj, to take set point, 25-17.

Unlike the previous two sets, set three began with Bucknell taking the lead over American, 3-0. The Eagles would not back down however and after a Sukaj ace would tie the score at seven on a Bison error. After trading the lead several times, AU found itself trailing again by three, 20-17. Three straight points scored off a Heath kill, Bucknell error and Sukaj kill evened the score again 20 as AU cruised down the stretch to record match point, 25-21, off yet another Sukaj kill.

AU's one-two punch of Sukaj and Heath led the Eagles to victory. Sukaj recorded 16 kills, one ace and seven digs while Heath tallied 10 kills, two aces and nine digs. Nash dished out 34 assists in the win and also added six kills on nine attempts with zero errors for a .667 hitting percentage.

Defensively, the Eagles held Bucknell to a .155 hitting percentage led by Cebakova's 18 digs and 11 digs from junior Cynammon Burns. Both Recht and sophomore Katerina Cinkova notched three block assists.

American will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 18, as the team travels to Hamilton, N.Y., to face Colgate at 4 p.m. Live video will be available by clicking here.