The American University volleyball team fell just short of a victory Friday night in West Point, N.Y., as the Eagles fell to host Army, 3-2. Angelina Waterman scored a team-high 21 kills and added eight digs while Magdalena Tekiel, Cassandra Ricketts and Krysta Cicala each recorded double-doubles. Army, however, found a way to pull out the victory by set scores of 23-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-22, 15-14.

American (9-11, 3-3) took a slight 3-1 advantage in the opening moments of the match but found itself trailing midway through the first set, 12-9. Three consecutive Tekiel kills evened the score at 12 though before the Eagles took the lead for good, 14-13, following an Ann Recht kill. American led by as many as three down the stretch and took set point by a score of 25-23.

Army (18-3, 6-0) changed its fortune in the second set after breaking a 12-all tie and rolled to a 25-16 victory to even the match. American, however, rebounded in the third, battling back from 10-7 deficit. Trailing by three, the Eagles rattled off four consecutive points to take an 11-10 lead and used a second 4-0 run which was punctuated by a Waterman kill to take a 15-12 advantage. American's lead reached five points, 19-14, following a Claire Recht and Cicala block as the team took set point, 25-21, on a Ricketts kill.

The two teams traded the lead three times in the fourth set and found themselves tied on 10 occasions before the Black Knights finally gained the upper hand off an American service error, 18-17. American would later cut a three-point deficit to one, 20-19, but could not complete the comeback as Army once again evened the match with a 25-22 victory.

In the fifth and deciding set, Army held a 10-7 advantage before a Waterman kill and C. Recht and Ricketts block tied the set at 11. American fought back a second time as a C. Recht kill and Black Knight error erased a two-point deficit to tie the score at 14 but an AU error and Army kill allowed the Black Knights to take match point, 16-14.

Waterman recorded 21 kills, eight digs and three total blocks to lead the Eagles, marking the third match this season that the junior has reached 20 kills in a match. Tekiel, Ricketts and Cicala each also turned in impressive individual performances. Tekiel recorded her first career double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs while Ricketts turned in her second career double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Cicala notched her second double-double of the year and career with 52 assists and 16 digs.

American will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, October 17, at Holy Cross at 4 p.m.