Aug. 30, 2008
Georgetown Box
Score
George Mason
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball
team won a pair of matches on Saturday to capture the third annual
D.C. Volleyball Challenge at George Washington University. The
Eagles beat Georgetown in the opener, 3-0, and held off George
Mason in the nightcap, 3-1. Senior Rubena Sukaj broke
the AU career service aces record on her first of seven aces on the
day.
"We rebounded nicely today from a tough loss last night," head
coach Barry
Goldberg said. "We played much better against two tough teams
and showed some great improvement in many areas."
American (2-1) took a four-set match against GMU in its third
and final match of the weekend, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15. Both
teams matched up well early in the first set and by the midway
point were deadlocked in their 11th tie of the frame, 13-13. AU
would pull away though on the strength of a 5-0 run which moved the
score to 18-13 and took the first set 25-21. Senior setter Christina Nash
directed the American offense to a .316 hitting percentage in the
set, recording 10 assists and adding three kills.
The second set saw seven lead changes before George Mason slowly
pulled away from the Eagles for a 25-20 win. Sukaj scored eight
kills in the set while hitting .615 but AU could not slow the
Patriot offense which combined to hit .448.
American regained its poise in the third set and withstood a
late charge from GMU for a 25-23 victory. The Eagles opened the
frame by taking an early 10-4 lead. Ahead by six at 20-14,
American's attack slowed momentarily as the Patriots creeped back
to within two, 23-21. With the match still in the balance AU
capitalized on a Patriot error to close out the set. The Eagles
defense played a major role in the set's outcome as Sukaj, Nash and
freshman Rebecca Heath each
recorded two block assists and the team totaled four blocks for the
frame.
The Eagles defense continued to shine in set four as AU
controlled the action and took match point at 25-15. AU totaled a
match-high five total blocks in the frame and received three block
assists from Sukaj and two from Angelina
Waterman. A 7-2 run powered by three kills from Sukaj and two
from Heath allowed American to open a seven-point lead, 17-10, as
the Eagles cruised to match-point.
"George Mason was a good test for us," Goldberg commented. "Christina
Nash and Rubena Sukaj
improved throughout the tournament and put it all together in the
finale."
For the second time in as many nights AU received double-double
efforts from its senior duo of Sukaj and Nash. Sukaj led all
scorers with 22 kills and dug 15 balls while Nash dished out 40
assists and notched 11 digs herself. Sukaj and Recht also led the
team in block assists with five apiece. Junior Ivana Cebakova led
all defenders with 22 digs.
Earlier in the day American faced off with Georgetown and walked
away with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-23 victory. Nash carefully navigated
the AU offense in the first set as the team finished with a .519
hitting percentage on 15 kills in 27 attempts. Despite an efficient
attack, the Eagles could not pull away from the Hoyas and held
tightly to a one point lead late in the frame, 19-18. A 4-1 spurt
which included two aces by Nash gave AU a slight edge, 23-19, as
American held on for the win.
American scored the first point of set two on a Sukaj kill and
never looked back as it held the lead the entire frame and took a
25-20 win. The Eagles never extended their lead past four points
until set point but a steady attack and solid defense proved to be
too much for the Hoyas to handle. As a team the Eagles hit .344 in
the frame with six different players getting into the action. Sukaj
and Cebakova notched four digs and three digs, respectively, as AU
limited Georgetown to a .250 percentage.
AU finished off the match to earn its first win of the season
with a 25-23 victory in set three. The Eagles took a 14-10 lead
midway through the frame but saw their lead evaporate as Georgetown
battled back and took a slight advantage, 15-16, heading into the
stretch. Two Sukaj kills coupled with a Georgetown error put the
score back in favor of American, 18-16. The lead was extended to as
many as six points, 24-18, as AU looked for match point but again
the Hoyas fought back and closed the gap to within one, 24-23. AU
would not be denied though as Nash found Waterman on the outside
for a kill to give AU the match.
"The team showed poise and patience against Georgetown,"
Goldberg said. "Coming off a difficult loss last night we knew we
needed get better in these areas and the team came through."
Sukaj scored a match-high 14 kills for the Eagles and added six
aces. The senior's first ace of the day marked a new AU record as
Sukaj passed Jami Versteegen's, '90, career mark of 239. She now
has 246 for her career and is closing in on the Patriot League's
career mark of 255 currently held by Fordham alum Jenn Shea.
Nash recorded 29 assists in the match and guided American to a
combined .358 hitting percentage. Waterman notched six kills and
three block assists.
With the pair of wins, American claimed the D.C. Volleyball
Challenge title for the second straight year. Sukaj was named the
Tournament MVP totaling 58 kills, a .325 hitting percentage, eight
aces, 3.08 digs per game and 10 total blocks. Nash was named to the
All-Tournament Team with 10.08 assists per game, 13 kills, seven
aces and 11 total blocks. Ricketts rounded out AU's All-Tournament
performers notching 26 kills, a .385 hitting percentage, three aces
and three block assists.
American will now travel to College Station, Texas, to
participate in the Texas A&M Classic. On Friday, Sept. 6, AU
will play host Texas A&M at 7 p.m. in the Aggies home opener.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Eagles will see action first against
Brigham Young University at 9:30 a.m. and will return to the court
later in the day against Siena at 4:30 p.m.
Tournament Results
GW def. American, 3-2
Georgetown def. GMU, 3-0
GW def. GMU, 3-1
American def. Georgetown, 3-0
American def. GMU, 3-1
Georgetown def. GW, 3-0
All-Tournament Team
Rubena
Sukaj, MVP, AU
Christina
Nash, AU
Cassandra
Ricketts, AU
Rebecca Walter, GMU
Caitlin Boland, GW
Sara Manley, GW
