Nov. 16, 2008
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball
team suffered its first conference loss of the season on Saturday,
dropping a four set decision to Army, 3-1. The loss forces a share
of the Patriot League Regular Season Championship between the
Eagles and Black Knights, who both finished out the season with
13-1 PL records. Despite the tie, American holds the tiebreaker
with Army and will host the 2008 PL Tournament in Bender Arena next
Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22.
American (22-8, 13-1) took the first set over Army, 25-21,
before the Black Knights stormed back to win three straight sets
and claim the victory, 25-21, 25-15, 25-23. In the first set, the
Eagles got off on the right foot as they took a 2-0 lead on an Army
error and Rubena
Sukaj kill then extended their lead to five points, 10-5, on an
Army error bookended by two Sukaj aces. The Black Knights would
fight their way back though and after back-to-back kills found
themselves within two, 13-11. American was able to halt the
comeback attempt and push its lead back to four, 18-14, but again
Army came charging back to within two points, 21-19. Holding the
same lead, 23-21, AU would score consecutive points on yet another
Army error and a Claire Recht kill to
take the set, 25-21.
The Eagles again got out to a lead to open the second set, 3-0,
on the strength of a Rebecca Heath kill,
Ivana
Cebakova ace and Christina Nash
kill. This time however, AU could not stop the Army comeback as the
Black Knights tied the score at four and eventually took the lead,
6-5. Army led by as many as three points, 10-7, before the Eagles
were able to retie the score at 12 on a Heath kill. The score
remained tied through the next several points as the teams battled
back and forth before Army was finally able to take control.
Holding a one point lead, 18-17, Army rattled off three straight
points to open a four point lead, 21-17, and would hold off the
Eagles down the stretch for set point, 25-21.
In the third set is was Army from the onset, as the Black
Knights opened a 9-3 lead early and pushed their lead to as many as
10, 18-8. The Eagles were never able to find a rhythm in the frame
and failed to mount a comeback as Army took the set, 25-15.
AU traded points back-and-forth with Army to open the third set
as the teams struggled to take control of the frame. Tied at eight
after a Recht kill, Army took a three point lead off
three-consecutive Eagle errors, 11-8. American was unnable to
recover from the deficit until late in the set when Sukaj scored
consecutive kills to tie the score at 21. Trailing 23-21, AU was
again forced to fight back from behind was again up to the
challenege as they again retied the score, 23-23, on an Army error
and Sukaj kill. A Black Knight timeout however quieted the Eagles
momentum as Army scored the next two points for match point, 25-23.
Sukaj recorded a match-high 15 kills in the loss with 10 digs
and four aces. She was complimented by Heath who tallied 12 kills
and Cebakaova who notched 18 digs.
American and Army both finished off the regular season with
identical 13-1 conference records, earning the team's a share of
the PL Regular Season Championship. The Eagles own the tiebreak
between the schools however and have earned the No. 1 seed in next
week's PL Tournament and the right to host. AU will face No. 4
Bucknell on Friday, Nov. 21, in one of the tournament's semifinal
matches while Army, the No. 2 seed, will face No. 3 Colgate in the
other. Match times for Friday are yet to be determined. The winner
of each match will the meet on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. in the
championship match.
