The American University volleyball team suffered its first Patriot League and home loss of the season, falling to Army, 3-1, on Saturday night in Bender Arena.

American (18-2, 4-1) took a 6-1 lead early in the first set and held a 12-6 advantage on a kill by Monika Smidova. The Black Knights battled back within two, 13-11, but the Eagles recorded three straight tallies to pull away once again as Army called a timeout. American held a 21-14 lead before the Black Knights rallied with an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the set, 22-21. American knotted it up on a kill by Allison Cappellino, but the Black Knights answered with three straight points for the 25-22 win.

The Eagles held an early advantage in the second set, going up 15-9 on a pair of errors by Army (7-8, 4-1). After a Black Knights timeout, American continued to hold on to its lead with a kill by Juliana Crum securing a 22-14 lead. Army responded with a 4-1 run to make it a 23-18 match. Following an Eagles' timeout, American was able to hold off any attempts at a comeback with a 25-21 win to tie it up at one set apiece.

American went up 7-2 in the third set as the Black Knights called a timeout. Army remained close as the two teams battled back and forth, using a 4-0 run to fight back within one, 17-16, on a block by Mary Vaccaro. The Eagles tried to pull away but Army was able to tie it up at 20-all and take the lead on back-to-back errors by American. The Eagles came back within one three times down the stretch, but a kill by Megan Wilton secured the 25-23 win and 2-1 lead for the Black Knights.

American struck first in the fourth set but was never able to retake the lead. Army went up 11-8 on a kill by Deanna Dalton and then pulled away to 20-16 on an ace by D.J. Phee. The Eagles answered with four consecutive points to make it a one-point match, 21-20, on a block by Kelly McCaddin and Kylann Scheidt. Following an Army timeout, the Black Knights notched three straight tallies and a kill by Margaux Jarka handed the Eagles its first loss in conference play.

Kristyna Lindovska and Crum posted double-doubles in the match. Lindovksa led American with 17 kills, hitting .412, with 12 digs while Crum added 13 kills and 13 digs. McCaddin also finished with double-digit kills, tallying 12, and recorded a team-best six blocks. Cappellino led the defensive effort with 14 digs and Smidova had 35 assists for the Eagles.

Jarka and Vaccaro had double-doubles for Army. Jarka led the team with 17 kills and 12 digs and Vaccaro paced the offense with 46 assists while adding 14 digs. Phee notched a team-best 20 digs and Olivia Fairfield had a team-high six blocks. The Black Knights outhit American, .320 to .206, for the match.

The Eagles will look to bounce back when it opens a four-game road trip at Colgate on Friday, October 11 at 7 p.m.