Oct. 30, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team extended its season-high winning streak to 13 matches Thursday night and improved to 10-0 in conference play as the Eagles defeated Navy, 3-0, on the road. AU was led by freshman Rebecca Heath who scored 11 kills and senior Rubena Sukaj who tallied 11 digs.

"We played a steady match and came away with a good win on the road," Head Coach Barry Goldberg said. "Our defense did a good job limiting their outsides and our block was very strong. Offensively, we hit the ball well and did a nice job with our serves. We were able to control the match against a good team which gave us some trouble the last time we played and are very happy with our overall performance."

American (18-6, 10-0) earned its 15th straight-set victory of the season by set scores of 25-17, 25-9, 25-23. The Eagles took control of the first set off the opening serve, taking a quick 4-1 lead. Navy answered AU's opening run and brought the score to within one, 5-4, but would get no closer as American bounced back and opened a six point advantage, 13-7. The Eagles continued to roll in the set, led by five kills from Rubena Sukaj and four each from Heath and Cassandra Ricketts, as they took set point by an eight-point margin, 25-17. Christina Nash dished out 12 assists in the frame as she guided the AU offense to a combined .462 hitting percentage.

AU continued its strong play in the second set after falling behind briefly, 1-0, and used a 9-0 run to open a nine point lead, 12-3. Tessa Paganini scored two service aces during the run as Heath and Nash each tallied two kills. American would extend its lead to 14 points, 19-5, as a Ricketts kill punctuated a 4-0 run. With the set well in hand, AU took set point, 25-9, as Nash and Claire Recht combined for one of the team's four blocks in the frame. The Eagles recorded 15 kills on 24 attempts with only three errors in the second as they hit a match-high .500. Defensively, AU allowed the Mids to score only three kills on 16 attempts while forcing five errors to limit them to a -.125 hitting percentage.

The Eagles held a slight two-point advantage early in the third set, 7-5, but fell behind as Navy went on a 5-0 run to take the lead, 10-7. American chipped away at the deficit and tied the score at 14 on a Recht kill which began an 8-0 run for the Eagles to take a seven point lead, 21-14. Navy answered AU's run with its own 6-0 run late in the frame but it was not enough as American took set point, 25-23, on a Mid service error.

Heath led the Eagles attack with 11 kills and a .364 hitting-percentage while adding five digs on defense. Recht added nine kills and hit .600 for the match while leading the AU block with five block assists. Sukaj tallied eight kills and 11 digs. Nash totaled 31 assists and guided the Eagles to a combined .304 hitting percentage.

American will be back in action next Tuesday, Nov. 4, as the Eagles travel to Richmond, Va., to take on Virginia Commonwealth at 7 p.m.