The American University volleyball team got a big lift on the defensive side of the net Thursday night in a 3-0 win over Navy at Bender Arena. Deborah Frantz, Angelina Waterman and Alexandra Hammer each recorded 10 or more digs to pick up the struggling offense, as the Eagles earned the victory by set scores of 25-20, 34-32 and 25-23.

American (17-2, 5-0) trailed 9-4 in the first set before a 9-2 run put the Eagles on top, 13-11. The Eagles forced four attack errors during the stretch which was capped by consecutive blocks and a Cassandra Ricketts kill. Navy (6-15, 0-5) answered back with a run of its own to regain a 17-13 advantage, but it would be short lived as two Juliana Crum kills helped the Eagles retie the frame at 17. Tied at 20, American rattled off five straight points to earn set point, 25-20, following back-to-back Magdalena Tekiel kills.

The second set featured six lead changes and 15 tied scores, as the two teams battled back and forth from beginning to end. American took an early 7-1 advantage, but Navy quickly came back to bring the score to 9-8. With a 14-10 margin, the Eagles suffered through a stretch in which the team committed six errors in eight points, allowing the Midshipmen to tie the score at 16. American was able to regain a slight advantage and held serve for set point, 24-23, but a service error knotted the game at 24. American held serve for set point six more times before the set was finally decided, as consecutive kills by Waterman gave the Eagles their final 34-32 margin.

American led 4-2 following a Bianca Richardson ace in the third set, but later found itself trailing 13-9 after a 5-0 Navy run. Back-to-back Waterman kills capped off a 5-1 American stretch to tie the score at 14, and a Waterman ace later evened the frame at 17. The Midshipmen regained a three-point advantage, 20-17, before a 4-1 run by the Eagles made the score 21-all. A kill by Crum and a Navy error gave American a 24-22 edge as the Eagles earned set point off another Crum kill, 25-23.

"The positive [from Thursday's match] was that we found a way through when we weren't playing so well," Head Coach Barry Goldberg commented. "We made a couple key plays in each set at the very end to finish the match off. It was a good sign for when we get down the stretch that we have enough power to make some plays and find a way through it."

Frantz led American's defensive efforts with 19 digs, matching her season-high. Waterman and Hammer each recorded a double-double in the victory, with Waterman tallying 13 kills and 16 digs, and Hammer dishing out 26 assists with 10 digs. This marked Waterman's third double-double of the year and Hammer's second. Tekiel added 11 kills while Crum notched 10.

American's defense limited Navy to a .175 hitting percentage, helping the Eagles to record their 11th straight victory. American is now 17-2 on the year, keeping pace with the 2001 squad which began 26-2 en route to a 26-4 overall record and the program's first Patriot League Championship. The Eagles also improved to a perfect 8-0 in Bender Arena, with all eight wins coming in straight sets.

American will wrap up its current five-match homestand next weekend against Lafayette and Lehigh. The Eagles will first take to the court on Friday, October 15, at 7:00 p.m. against the Leopards before meeting the Mountain Hawks on Saturday, October 16, at 2:00 p.m. Fans unable to attend the 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.

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