Nov. 4, 2008

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team was defeated by Virginia Commonwealth, 3-1, Tuesday night, ending the Eagles streak of 13-consecutive wins. Seniors Rubena Sukaj and Christina Nash recorded double-doubles in the loss as Sukaj scored a match-high 21 kills and notched 11 digs and Nash dished out 40 assists with 10 digs.

American (18-7, 10-0) took the lead early in the match with a win in set one but lost three straight sets after for the 25-21, 25-20, 25-18, 28-26 defeat. The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead to open the first set but VCU quickly answered back and tied the score at four. After falling behind 10-7, kills by Cassandra Ricketts and Sukaj helped AU to retie the score at 10 and after a Rebecca Heath kill the Eagles were back on top, 13-11. After two straight Ram errors, AU held a four-point lead, 20-16, and took set point by the same margin on a Heath kill, 25-21. The Eagles combined to hit .353 in the frame and received four kills from both Heath and Sukaj.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair which saw nine tie scores and four lead changes. The two teams battled evenly through the set's first 20 points and were tied, 10-10. VCU would then go on a 3-0 run to open a 13-10 lead and held a four-point lead late, 20-16. American cut the Rams lead to two, 20-18, but was unable to complete its comeback as VCU scored three straight points to take set point, 25-20.

American fell behind early in the third set, 7-1, but battled back to within two points, 11-9, on the strength of a 4-0 run capped by a Sukaj service ace and a block by Christina Nash and Katerina Cinkova. The Eagles could not continue their momentum however as VCU used a 3-0 run to go ahead by six, 16-10, before eventually taking set point by seven, 25-18.

Tied at four early in an exciting fourth set, American suddenly found itself trailing as VCU scored three quick points for a 7-4 lead. Unwilling to succumb, the Eagles battled their way back into the match and took the lead, 11-10, on two Ram errors. AU could not hold its advantage though as VCU retied the score at 13 before taking a five-point lead, 19-14. A 6-1 run powered by two kills and an ace by Magdalena Tekiel evened the set at 20 before a Nash and Ann Recht block put the Eagles back on top by two, 23-21. AU could not put the set away however as VCU retied the score at 23. American would respond and forced a Ram error to take a 26-25 lead but could not earn set point as VCU answered back with consecutive kills before an Eagle error gave VCU match point, 28-26.

Sukaj and Nash both recorded a double-double in the Eagles loss. Sukaj led all scorers with 21 kills while defensively she added 11 digs. Nash dished out 40 assists with 10 digs, three block assists and two aces. Ivana Cebakova and Cynammon Burns each tallied double-digit digs with 12 and 10, respectively. Heath added nine kills for AU while C. Recht scored eight.

American will be back in action on Thursday, Nov. 6, in its final home match of the season as the Eagles face off against North Carolina Central at 7 p.m. Live video of the match will be available via Eagle Vision All*Access by clicking here.