The American University volleyball team will return to Patriot League play with a pair of matches at Bender Arena this weekend. The Eagles will first take on Army on Friday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. before playing Holy Cross on Saturday, October 2 at 2:00 p.m.

American (14-2, 2-0) won its eighth straight match Wednesday night with a straight-set victory over Morgan State. Angelina Waterman led the Eagles with an 11-kill performance while also adding six digs, three solo blocks and two service aces. Magdalena Tekiel finished with eight kills, eight digs, two aces and a season-high .583 hitting percentage. Deborah Frantz notched a match-high 13 kills en route to the win.

Tekiel and Waterman currently lead the Patriot League with 3.67 and 3.65 kps, respectively. Tekiel also leads the conference with a .359 hitting percentage and ranks second with 0.39 sas. Junior Alexandra Hammer has dished out a league-high 9.93 aps since taking over at setter, while Frantz and Bianca Richardson lead the team in digs (3.46 dps) and blocks (0.92 bps), respectively.

The Eagles' .292 hitting percentage currently ranks ninth in the country and first in the Patriot League. They also lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks and service aces. With 14-2 record, American has matched the 2001 squad's mark for the program's best start to a season through 15 matches. The Eagles finished that season 26-4 en route to the program's first Patriot League Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Army (9-8, 2-0) has won six of its last seven matches, including its first two in Patriot League play. The Black Knights downed Lafayette in straight sets on Saturday to pick up their most recent victory. They are led by sophomore Ariana Mankus, who has averaged 3.44 kps, 2.91 dps and a .243 hitting percentage so far this season. Amanda Rowell leads the team with 0.98 bps, while setter Karyn Powell ranks second in the Patriot League with 8.75 aps.

American is 21-5 all time against the Black Knights, though the two teams split the regular season series in 2009. Army also got the best of the Eagles in the Patriot League Championship, where a 3-0 loss prevented American from capturing its ninth straight title.

Holy Cross (7-12, 1-1) is coming off a 3-1 loss to Lehigh on Saturday. Sophomore Megan Lynch leads the team and ranks third in the Patriot League with 3.60 kps. Kathleen Colpoys sports a team-high .284 hitting percentage and also averages 1.90 kps. Senior setter Chelsey O'Donnell ranks third in the conference with 8.59 aps. The Crusaders are 0-19 all-time against American and have yet to win a road match this season.

Fans unable to attend these matches can catch all of the action live through AUeagles.com via a subscription to Eagles Vision TV. Eagles Vision TV will broadcast all 12 of American's home volleyball matches this season, bringing the action from Bender Arena to your computer. Year-long subscriptions are $49.95 and allow you to watch every live broadcast produced by Eagles Vision TV and access to the Eagles Vision TV archives to watch past games on-demand. Single-game subscriptions, which are only available during live broadcasts, are also available for $5.95 per event.