The American University volleyball team kicked off the second half of conference play with its sixth sweep over a Patriot League opponent, downing Loyola (Md.), 3-0, on Friday night in Baltimore, Md. 

American (22-2, 8-1) rolled to a 25-9 victory in the first set, going up 13-2 before the Greyhounds battled back within 10, 16-6, on a kill by Jane Lukas. The Eagles used another 5-0 run to take a 21-6 advantage and closed out the set on a 4-1 run for the win with Kristyna Lindovska notching the final kill.

Loyola (5-16, 2-7) tallied three straight points to make it a one-point match, 7-6, after the Eagles took an early lead. American pulled away again with consecutive aces by Allison Cappellino for the 10-6 score before the Greyhounds fought back to make it 12-9 on an ace by Kara Schiffer. The Eagles registered four straight tallies to take a seven-point lead and continued to hold off a Loyola rally, with Juliana Crum picking up the kill for the 25-20 win and 2-0 match lead. 

The final set was knotted up seven times before American broke away with three straight points for the 11-8 advantage. The Greyhounds held tough, making it a three-point match, 13-10, on a kill by Jac Bullock but consecutive points by the Eagles forced Loyola to call a timeout. American maintained a seven-point lead before the Greyhounds battled back again, going on a 4-1 run to cut the Eagles' lead to 20-16. But American notched three straight points, with an ace by Monika Smidova putting the Eagles up 24-16. Loyola attempted a late run but a service error by Elena Frac gave American the 25-18 victory.

Lindovska led the Eagles with 12 kills, hitting .611. Cappellino added 10 kills and hit a team-best .625 on the night, also recording a team-high nine digs. Smidova posted 34 assists and five aces for American. The Eagles held a .442 to .182 advantage in hitting percentage for the match. 

Bullock tallied a team-high nine kills for the Greyhounds with Schiffer adding a team-best six digs and Lauren Andersen pacing the offense with 21 assists. Mindy Maloney led Loyola with four blocks.

American returns to Bender Arena for a three-match homestand, taking on Bucknell on Friday, November 1 at 7 p.m. and Lafayette on Saturday, November 2 at 2 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on Eagles Vision TV.