Oct. 24, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team defeated Army on Friday night, 3-0, to take sole possession of first place in the Patriot League after the teams entered the match with identical 7-0 records in conference play. Claire Recht hit a career-high .857 in the win while Rubena Sukaj led all scorers with 15 kills.

"We had a strong performance from many of our key players and our consistent serving and passing put us in a position to win," Head Coach Barry Goldberg said. "Rubena Sukaj was a big offensive weapon out of the front and back row. We got good production from both Rebecca Heath and Cassandra Ricketts but most importantly our defense did a nice job stopping their top attackers."

American (16-6, 8-0) earned the straight-set win by scores of 25-14, 25-23, 25-19. AU took control of the first set early, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The Eagles continued to cruise in the frame and used three Sukaj kills combined with solid defense to extend their lead to as many as 11, 19-8. Army attempted to chip away at the lead and closed to within seven, 20-13, but would get no closer. A kill by Rebecca Heath followed by two Black Knight errors gave AU set point, 25-14. Sukaj and Heath finished the frame with five kills and four kills, respectively, as American outhit Army .560-.000.

The second set was a tight affair which saw nine tied scores and four lead changes. With the score tied at 12 apiece, AU went on a small run powered by a Cassandra Ricketts kill and Ivana Cebakova ace to open a 15-12 lead. The Eagles extended their lead to five, 20-15, before the Black Knights charged back and brought the score to within one, 21-20. AU answered Army's run with its own 3-0 run to move the score to 24-21, before taking set point on Sukaj's fifth kill of the set.

After the intermission, AU rushed out to a 6-0 lead in the third set on the strength of two Heath aces and two C. Recht kills. Army would chip away at the lead though and brought the score to within three, 13-10, at the midway point. The Black Knights would get to within two points of AU, 18-16, but no closer as the Eagles took control down the stretch. American used two Sukaj kills to build its lead back to six, 22-16, before taking match point on an Army service ace, 25-19.

Sukaj led all scorers with 15 kills in the match and was the only attacker to record double-digit kills. She added three total blocks and four digs on the defense side of the net while finishing the match with a .303 hitting percentage. C. Recht tallied a career-high .857 hitting percentage in the win as she scored six kills on seven attempts with zero errors. As a team, AU combined to hit .352 for the match as Christina Nash dished out 33 assists.

American held Army to just a .136 hitting percentage as the team recorded seven blocks and 34 digs.

AU will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 25, in Bender Arena against Holy Cross at 1 p.m. as the Eagles celebrate Senior Night. Cebakova, Nash, Tessa Paganini and Sukaj will each be honored for their outstanding careers at American during a half-time ceremony. Live video of the match will be available via Eagle Vision All*Access by clicking here.