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A season-high 12 blocks helped the American University volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over North Carolina on Sunday in Bender Arena, the team's first-ever win over the Tar Heels. Claire Recht totaled eight blocks in the win with 10 kills while Angelina Waterman notched a career-high five total blocks and 11 kills. The Eagles victory came by set scores of 25-22, 15-25, 25-21 and 25-23.

American (4-7) and North Carolina (4-7) traded the lead five times in the first set before the Eagles finally took control late to earn the victory. The Eagles threatened to pull away midway through the frame, taking an 18-15 lead on the strength of a 3-0 run, but UNC battled back and eventually took a 21-20 advantage. Tied at 21, a second 3-0 spurt by American punctuated by a Recht block and block assist by Recht and Cassandra Ricketts on consecutive plays put the set out of reach. A North Carolina service error gave American set point, 25-22.

The second set went to North Carolina as the Tar Heels opened the frame by taking a 10-3 advantage en route to a 25-15 victory. American bounced back in the third though and led nearly the entire way. A block assist by Recht and Ricketts gave the Eagles an early 12-8 advantage and another block assist from the same combo put the score at 20-17. Ricketts would later record a service ace to push the score to 24-20 before a Tar Heel error put the set to bed, 25-21.

The fourth set was another back-and-forth affair as the teams traded the lead six times and found themselves tied on nine occasions. North Carolina used a 3-0 run midway through the frame to open a 14-8 advantage but could not keep its momentum up as the Eagles responded with their own run to tie the score at 18. Consecutive kills by Waterman gave American a 23-21 lead before Waterman was able to score yet another kill for match point, 25-23.

"We had good timing today and got a big confidence boost by taking the first set after being tied at 21," Head Coach Barry Goldberg commented following the victory. "It's great to get a win against a program like North Carolina and I think this win will be a great learning experience for our team as we head into conference play."

Waterman and Ricketts each finished the match with 11 kills to lead American while Waterman totaled five blocks, including two solo, and Ricketts tallied four. Recht led the defensive effort for the Eagles as she notched a season-high eight total blocks and added 10 kills. Magdalena Tekiel chipped in 10 kills and Rebecca Heath recorded 10 digs.

American will return to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 22, as the Eagles travel north to Baltimore, Md., for a 7 p.m. showdown with Loyola. Live stats from the match will be available by clicking here.