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The American University volleyball team had four student-athletes record double-digit kills Friday night as it defeated Bucknell, 3-0, in Bender Arena. Magdalena Tekiel scored a match-high 11 kills while Claire Recht, Cassandra Ricketts and Angelina Waterman each added 10. The Eagles victory came by set scores of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-16.

American (8-8, 2-1) and Bucknell (5-10, 1-2) traded points early in the first set before the Eagles were able to open a 14-9 lead following back-to-back blocks. American pushed its advantage to 10 points, 21-11, after a 5-0 run which included two blocks by Recht and Krysta Cicala and took set point, 25-14, off a Waterman kill. The Eagles hit an impressive .448 for the set with 14 kills on 29 attempts and just one error. American's defense also came up big and recorded four blocks to hold Bucknell to a .000 hitting percentage.

The Eagles forced three consecutive errors to break a nine-all tie in the second set and take a 12-9 lead. American was unable to put any more distance between itself and the visitor though until kills by Tekiel and Ricketts put the team up by five, 22-17. Bucknell responded with back-to-back kills following a timeout to come back to within three, 22-19, but would not get any closer as American finished off the set with a Waterman kill leading by four, 25-21.

American used five blocks to sprint out to a 10-2 lead in the third set and never looked back. The Eagles moved their advantage to 16-6 on consecutive Tekiel kills before a Bucknell error moved the score to 23-12. American would later record match point, 25-16, on a Bison service error.

The Eagles recorded a .344 hitting percentage for the match, equaling the team's season-high. Tekiel scored a match-high 11 kills and added nine digs while Recht, Ricketts and Waterman each notched 10 kills. American also combined for 10 blocks with Recht tallying six block assists and Waterman chipping in five total blocks (1 BS, 4 BA).

“We came out and were pretty settled in by the time the first 10 points came by and put up a good block to start. It was a good performance overall,” Head Coach Barry Goldberg said during his post-match interview with Eagles Vision TV. “We are starting to see some improvements and will have a good competition here tomorrow against Colgate.”

American will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 3, against Colgate at 5 p.m. in Bender Arena in a rematch of last year's Patriot League Championship. The match can be seen live on the new Eagles Vision TV channel, featuring multiple camera angles, a live scoreboard and analysis from a studio broadcast team and courtside reporters. To signed up for Eagles Vision TV, click here.