Box Score

The American University volleyball team recorded 12 total blocks in a 3-2 win Saturday afternoon at Portland in the University of Portland Classic. Ann Recht and Cassandra Ricketts each totaled five blocks in the victory while Claire Recht and Angelina Waterman tallied four. The victory is the 499^th career win for Head Coach Barry Goldberg.

American (1-5) picked up its first win of the season by set scores of 14-25, 25-14, 25-19, 16-25 and 15-4. The Eagles struggled to find a rythem in the first set as Portland (2-4) sprinted out to a 15-7 lead. American was unable to mount a comeback against the Pilots and dropped the frame by a score of 25-14.

American turned the tables on Portland in the second set and quickly built a 17-6 lead with five different Eagles recording a point. Consecutive kills by Tekiel upped American's advantage to 20-7 before back-to-back kills from Ricketts and Krysta Cicala gave the Eagles set point, 25-14. American recorded a .435 hitting percentage in the frame, scoring 13 kills on 23 attempts with just three errors.

Portland took a slight lead to begin the third set, 5-3, and extended the margin to five midway through the frame, 14-9. American battled its way back however with a 7-0 run to take the lead, 16-14, recording three blocks during the stretch. The Pilots briefly tied the score at 17 before a 6-1 run gave the Eagles the set, 25-19.

The Pilots forced a fifth set with a 25-16 victory in the fourth. In the deciding frame, American stormed out to a commanding 10-1 lead, forcing four Portland errors and picking up three more blocks. C. Recht, Ricketts and Waterman each picked up kills down the stretch as American took match point, 15-4.

American earned the victory on the strength of a total team defensive effort, as six Eagles recorded at least one block and six tallied at least five digs. A. Recht and Ricketts led the team with five total blocks while C. Recht and Waterman picked up four apiece. Rebecca Heath notched 21 digs and Waterman 12. Tekiel led the offensive attack with 15 kills. Waterman and Ricketts tallied 13 kills and 12 kills, respectively.

The victory marks the 499^th in the career for Goldberg, all of which have come in his 21 seasons at American. Goldberg's next victory will make him the 24^th active coach with 500 wins and the 42^nd all-time.

The Eagles will return to action next weekend as host of the American Volleyball Classic. American will take on NJIT, Virginia Tech and Yale in the two-day event which will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12. Each of American's matches in the tournament will be broadcast 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, click here.