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In front of a record crowd of 2,055 fans, the American University volleyball team defeated George Mason Friday night in the team's fourth annual Bender Blue Out, 3-0. Magdalena Tekiel led the way for the Eagles with 18 kills and 11 digs as American won its opening match of the D.C. Volleyball Challenge by scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-23.

"The crowd was tremendous," Head Coach Barry Goldberg commented following the match. "Our students got it going and the band was incredible. When we've got a whole roaring wave of people standing behind us it's quite an encouragement and a great way to start our season."

American (1-0) and George Mason (0-1) traded points to begin the match until a 3-0 run by the Patriots put them on top, 13-10. The Eagles would rally with a five-point spurt to take a 16-14 lead and led by as many as seven points, 24-17, following a Katerina Cinkova and Cassandra Ricketts block. Tekiel then put the set away one point later, 25-18.

A Cinkova kill gave American a 4-1 advantage early in the second set before a 6-2 George Mason run gave the Patriots an 11-9 margin. George Mason extended its advantage to seven points, 19-12, behind an 8-3 run and led 22-15 down the stretch. American's home court advantage helped to turn the momentum, however, as the Eagles scored 10 straight points to rally and steal the set, 25-22. Tekiel recorded seven kills during the outburst, including four straight to begin it, and Bianca Richardson added three aces.

American eased out to an 8-4 margin in the third but led only 8-7 three points later. George Mason eventually tied the set at 11 and midway through the frame held a 15-13 advantage. Training 21-18, American scored five straight points with kills coming from Cinkova, Richardson and Angelina Waterman to go on top, 23-21. Waterman eventually recorded match point for the Eagles, 25-23, giving American its first straight-set victory over George Mason since the 2007 season.

Tekiel recorded her fourth-career double-double in the victory, tallying a match-high 18 kills to go along with 11 digs. The senior finished the night with a .500 hitting percentage, converting her 18 kills on 32 attempts with only two errors.

"Magdalena had a really nice match," said Goldberg. "I think early she had a couple very difficult opportunities to make some kills and she made those kills. As the easier opportunities came open for her she started to put up some good numbers."

Waterman also reached double figures with 10 kills while Ricketts totaled six. Cinkova led the American front line with four blocks assists as Deborah Frantz earned a match-high 13 digs in the back row. Krysta Cicala and Alexandra Hammer combined for 35 assists at the setter position, guiding the Eagles to a .279 hitting percentage.

"There were a lot of players who I thought had nice contributions," Goldberg added. "Most of all, our setters controlled the tempo. That was a great sign and I think the most positive thing from the night."

The crowd of 2,055 marked a new Washington, D.C., collegiate volleyball attendance record, surpassing the previous record of 1,813 set at last year's Bender Blue Out. Now in its fourth year, the Bender Blue Out has seen three attendance records broken and averaged 1,679 fans each year.

This year's Bender Blue Out also marked the second stop on the 2010 Phil Bender World Tour. Prior to the match fans were treated to free Domino's Pizza courtesy of AU Women's Initiative, Robeks Smoothies and Coca-Cola products.

American will close out the 2010 D.C. Volleyball Challenge on Saturday, August 28, with a pair of matches against George Washington and Georgetown. The Eagles will first meet the Colonials at 11:00 a.m. and will later return to the court against the Hoyas at 5:00 p.m. Both matches will be played on the campus of George Mason.