Led by a pair of 16-kill performances from Cassandra Ricketts and Angelina Waterman, the American University volleyball team defeated Holy Cross on Friday night, 3-1, in Bender Arena to secure a spot in the 2009 Patriot League Tournament. The Eagles earned the victory, their fifth straight, by set scores of 25-14, 19-25, 25-14 and 25-11.

American (14-11, 8-3) opened the first set with a 4-0 run and never looked back. A 6-0 run midway through the frame pushed the lead to 21-10 and was capped off by three consecutive Waterman service aces. Ricketts finished off the set with consecutive kills as the Eagles took the first by a score of 25-14.

The Eagles faltered in the second set as Holy Cross (4-22, 2-9) used a 10-0 spurt to gain an insurmountable advantage, taking the frame by a score of 25-19. Not to be outdone, however, American rallied for a victory in the third. After falling behind 4-0, the Eagles quickly bounced back to tie the score at five. With the score still tied at nine, American rattled off ten straight points to take a 19-9 advantage. Five different Eagles scored a kill during the stretch which also included an Ann Recht ace and block by Magdalena Tekiel and Claire Recht. American took set point in the third, 25-14.

American sealed the victory with an impressive showing in the fourth set, allowing the Crusaders to score on consecutive plays only once. The Eagles held an 11-7 lead following a Waterman kill and then used a string of eight straight points to take a 19-8 advantage. Four points during the run came off forced Holy Cross errors. American finished the match with a 5-0 to take match point, 25-11.

Ricketts and Waterman led all scorers with 16 apiece while Waterman added 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. C. Recht and A. Recht added nine kills and eight kills, respectively, with C. Recht notching four blocks and A. Recht recording a career-high seven digs. Krysta Cicala dished out 51 assists while leading the Eagles to a combined .324 hitting percentage and Deborah Frantz tallied a career-high 20 digs while making her first career start.

The victory, coupled with a Lehigh loss Friday night, secures a place in the 2009 Patriot League Tournament for the Eagles. American has won the Patriot League Championship each year since joining the league in 2001 and owns a perfect 14-0 record in the tournament. This  year's tournament will be played Friday and Saturday, November 20-21, on the campus of the No. 1 seed.

American will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, November 7, against Army in the team's regular season home finale with home court advantage in the Patriot League Tournament still up for grabs. The Black Knights currently sit in first place of the conference standings with a 10-1 mark but are just two matches ahead of the third place Eagles. 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 sign up for Eagles Vision TV today, click here.