The American University volleyball team won its 11th Patriot League Championship, downing Colgate 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in Bender Arena.

American (32-2) tallied five straight points to go up 9-5 in the first set. An error by the Eagles brought Colgate back within two but American notched four straight points with back-to-back aces by Monika Smidova to go up 15-9. A kill by Juliana Crum gave the Eagles a 19-13 lead but the Raiders stormed back, going on a 9-2 run to take a 22-21 lead on a kill by Diane Seely. American was able to bounce back, knotting it up on a kill by Crum and retaking the lead on a Kristyna Lindovska kill as it held Colgate off the board for the remainder of the set on its way to a 25-22 win. 

Colgate (22-9) held off the Eagles to start the second set, maintaining an 11-10 edge on a kill by Kathleen Harris. Lindovska notched two straight kills and Morgan Hendrix added a third to give American back a 13-11 lead as the Raiders called a timeout. Colgate came out of the break with four straight points to go up 15-13 and after an Eagles' timeout American regained the 16-15 lead on three straight Colgate errors. A block by Smidova and Kelly McCaddin gave the Eagles a 21-19 lead as the Raiders took its second timeout, with Colgate coming back within one out of the break on a Lindsay Young kill. Crum got American within set point, 24-21, but Colgate knotted it up with a 3-0 run. The teams traded tallies with the Eagles nearly winning it on a block by Hendrix and Smidova for the 30-29 advantage. But the Raiders answered with a block by Kenzie Humes and Mari Faines to tie it up again. American was finally able to close out the set with back-to-back kills from Crum and Hendrix for the 32-30 win and 2-0 match advantage.

The Eagles jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third set before an ace by Allie Dyer cut its advantage to 12-9. Colgate fought back within one, 16-15, on a kill by Young but American pulled away with three straight kills, forcing the Raiders to call a timeout. A kill by Allison Cappellino sparked a 4-1 run for the Eagles with a kill by Smidova putting American within set point, 24-18. An error by the Eagles put Colgate back on the board but Hendrix closed out the sweep for American with a 25-19 win. 

Crum and Smidova each notched double-doubles for the Eagles. Crum finished with 15 kills and 10 digs while Smidova had 42 assists and 14 digs. Lindovska added 13 kills and hit .345 in the match and Cappellino led the team with 16 digs. American held a slight edge in hitting percentage, .276 to .218, in the match.

Kaylee Fifer had a double-double for the Raiders with 37 assists and 17 digs. Caitlin Cremin also notched 17 digs and Young had a team-best 14 kills. 

The title is American's 11th in 13 seasons and first since 2011. Following the win, Crum was named the Tournament MVP while Cappellino and Smidova joined her on the All-Tournament Team.

The Eagles will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, December 1 at 9:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.