Nov. 22, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team captured its eighth-consecutive Patriot League Championship on Saturday at Bender Arena, defeating a resilient Colgate squad, 3-1 (25-13, 25-21, 26-28, 25-19). With the win, the Eagles have claimed an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, with time, location and opponent forthcoming. The NCAA Selection Show will take place at 10 p.m. on November 30.

"We knew we had our hands full with Colgate when we saw what they were able to do to Army last night," said AU head coach Barry Goldberg. "They were able to take away our game plan and played great defense, forcing us into making tough shots. I give them a lot of credit, they have played very well to end the year."

American raced off to a 7-1 lead in the first set, with Cassandra Ricketts leading the way with two kills, an assisted block and an ace. Colgate's lone point came off an Eagle service error. Katrina Zawojski tallied the Raiders first kill of the match on the ninth point of the set to put the score at 7-2. The Eagles led 13-5 after a Christina Nash kill and a Claire Recht block and extended their lead to 10, 16-6, following Claire Recht kill. Colgate went on its first run of the set from there, scoring four unanswered points to cut the AU lead to 16-10. The Eagles would only allow the Raiders to score three points the rest of the set and took a 1-0 lead by a 25-13 score. American hit .414 in the opening set, while holding Colgate to a .083 hitting percentage.

The second set was played much closer, with Colgate building a 10-6 lead as American struggled to find consistency in its hitting. The Eagles closed the gap to 11-9 before Rubena Sukaj scored the next four AU points on kills, to tie it up at 13-13. American claimed a 20-17 lead in the second courtesy of a Colgate hitting error, but the Eagles immediately returned the favor and led by just two. Zawojski tallied a kill for the Raiders to pull within one, 20-19, forcing the Eagles to call a timeout. Colgate was charged with a service error coming out of the timeout gave AU another point on a hitting error before calling a timeout of its own, the Eagles leading 22-19. Ricketts scored her sixth kill of the match and Claire Recht was credited with a solo block to force set-point, 24-19, but Colgate responded with two straight points to make it 24-21. A net violation by the Raiders gave the Eagles the second set and a 2-0 lead. Sukaj had eight kills in the set, leading the American offense.

The third set was all about Claire Recht early on, as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-5 lead on her four kills. Colgate would fight back to trails 10-9 on four straight points. An AU hitting error knotted the score at 10-all before the Raiders took their first lead of the set on a Kaylee Dougherty kill and would claim the ensuing point to force an Eagles timeout. Ricketts scored her seventh kill of the match coming out of the break for AU, but Colgate responded with two straight points to lead 14-11. The Eagles tied it up at 14-14 and reclaimed the lead on Sukaj's 14th kill of the match. An Ivana Cebakova ace was answered by a Zawojski kill and Colgate tied it up at 16-16 before it reclaimed a two-point 18-16 lead.

The Eagles trailed 22-18 following a Casey Ritt kill before a hitting error put the score at 22-19. A Sukaj kill made it a two-point deficit, but a service error put the Raiders up 23-20. Logan Keala gave the Raiders their first set point, but Sukaj answered the call. A pair of kills by Claire Recht and Sukaj made it 24-23 and Rebecca Heath tied it up for the Eagles 24-24. AU saved another game point on a Colgate service error, but the Raiders earned their fifth set-point after taking a 26-25 lead. Sukaj tallied her 17th kill to tie it up, but a Cebakova service error game Colgate set-point number six. They would not squander that one, as Zawojski hit her 13th kill of the match to force a fourth set. The 28-26 win was the first set Colgate has ever taken at Bender Arena since American joined the Patriot League.

American (24-8) had a 7-5 lead in the fourth following a Rebecca Heath kill, but Colgate scored the next two points to tie it at 7-7. The score was still tied at 9-9 before the Eagles gave themselves a three-point cushion led by two Sukaj kills, to take a 12-9 lead. Colgate chipped away at the deficit, and trailed by one, 14-13, on a Ritts kill, the Eagles scored the next three points to lead 17-13. The Raiders went on a 5-2 run to pull within one, before a Ricketts kill reclaimed a two-point margin for the Eagles. American led 21-18 when Sukaj and Anne Recht teamed up for a block followed by two Colgate hitting errors to give the Eagles match point. AU was unable to connect on its first attempt, but in fitting fashion it was Sukaj who closed out the win, hitting her 29th kill of the match to give the Eagles their eighth straight Patriot League Championship.

"We had some real difference-makers in the match tonight," Goldberg said. "Every time we got into a bit of trouble Rubena (Sukaj) came up with a big kill. Christina (Nash) and Rebecca (Heath) played through injuries for us tonight and the whole team contributed to the win."

Aside from Sukaj's 29 kills, Heath and Ricketts tallied double-digit kills with 10 each. Nash had a game-high 53 assists and Cebakova led the match in digs with 15. The Eagles hit .357 for the match with their best hitting percentage coming in the fourth set, where they hit .593. Cebakova, Nash and Sukaj were named to the all-tournament team, with Sukaj earning Most Valuable Player honors.

Colgate (15-14) was led by Zawojski's 18 kills. Meghan Fanta had 37 assists and Jackie Adlam led the squad in digs with 10. The Raiders hit .203 for the match.

Please check AUEagles.com for further NCAA details as they become available.