The American University volleyball team battled back from a first set loss on its way to a 3-1 victory over Lehigh on Friday night in Bender Arena.

Lehigh (20-8, 11-5) took a 7-5 advantage on an ace by Rachel Charles and kill by Amanda Clark before consecutive kills by Juliana Crum and Monika Smidova tied it up. The Mountain Hawks continued to pull away despite the Eagles' efforts to knot it up, taking a 17-15 lead on a kill by Kaylynn Gemaras. American answered with three straight tallies for the 18-17 advantage and went up 22-20 on a kill by Allison Cappellino. Another kill by Cappellino gave the Eagles the 23-21 advantage but Lehigh knotted it up again and took a 24-23 lead on an American error. The Eagles strung together consecutive kills by Cappellino and Crum for the 25-24 advantage as the Mountain Hawks called a timeout. American held a 26-25 lead on a kill by Kelly McCaddin but Lehigh was able to pull away down the stretch with three straight tallies for the 28-26 win.

The second set was tied five times early before American (29-2, 14-1) took a 17-12 advantage off a 10-3 run. The Mountain Hawks continued to remain close to the Eagles, remaining within two points and tallying a 3-1 run to cut American's lead to 21-19 on a kill by Clark. But the Eagles were able to hold off a rally down the stretch, closing out the set on a 4-1 run for the 25-20 victory.

American rolled in the second set, taking a 10-2 lead early on a kill by Kristyna Lindovska. The Eagles' defense continued to prevent Lehigh from stringing more than two points together as an ace by Crum secured the 25-8 win and 2-1 match advantage. 

The Mountain Hawks held the early lead in the third set, continuing to hold off an American rally as it went up 11-9 on a kill by Genemaras. The Eagles rallied to retake the lead but a timeout by Lehigh sparked a 5-2 run and gave the Mountain Hawks back the 16-15 advantage. A Lindovska kill knotted it up and American never gave up its lead for the remainder of the match as it held on for a 25-20 win.

Cappellino notched a double-double for the second straight match with 11 kills and 16 digs and Smidova tallied one with 52 assists and 12 digs. Crum led the Eagles with 16 kills while Lindovska added 15 and Morgan Hendrix tallied 11 kills with eight blocks. Megan Rosburg led the team with 19 digs. American finished the match outhitting the Mountain Hawks .275 to .130. 

Jade Van Streepen led Lehigh with 16 kills and Amy Matula paced the offense with 27 assists. Charles posted a team-best 12 digs.

The Eagles close out the regular season tomorrow, Saturday, September 16 at 2 p.m. when it hosts Colgate on Senior Day for the Patriot League Regular Season title.