The American University volleyball team is going to the NCAA Volleyball Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. The Eagles swept #14 Duke, the 16th seed in the tournament, in Durham, N.C. on Saturday night to advance to the Lincoln Regionals against top-seeded Texas next weekend.

"We've just been pretty clutch in a lot of close games for the year and that's how you get a big record like we've got," said Head Coach Barry Goldberg. "A lot of teams out there I think maybe underestimated us until they saw us play. We came in here the third seed. We had a lot of wins this year and…from this weekend I think we gained a sense of some respect and we're going to go in against No. 1 Texas.”

Juliana Crum tallied the first kill of the match for American (34-2) but the Blue Devils rallied to knot it up at 4-all on an ace by Elizabeth Campbell. A service error by Campbell gave the Eagles back the lead and American took a 9-4 advantage on an ace by Megan Rosburg. Back-to-back points by the Blue Devils made it a two-point match, 12-10, but the Eagles went up 16-12 on a block by Kristyna Lindovska and Morgan Hendrix and error by Emily Sklar. Duke fought back to make it a one-point match but American was able to maintain its advantage, taking a 21-17 lead on three straight Blue Devil errors as Duke called a timeout. Rosburg and Allison Cappellino answered with kills out of the break but the Blue Devils went on a 6-0 run to tie it up at 23-all. Monika Smidova gave the Eagles back the lead and a block by Kelly McCaddin and Smidova sealed the 25-23 win. 

Duke (28-5) took the early lead in the second set but American was able to take its first lead on a block by McCaddin and Lindovska. The Blue Devils retook the lead on a kill by Sklar but a Lindovska kill sparked a 6-1 run for the Eagles as it went up 10-6. A block by Crum put American up 12-8 as Duke called a timeout and was able to rally out of the break with a 5-1 run to knot it up at 13. The two teams went back and forth and the Blue Devils went up 20-18 on a block by Jordan Tucker after an Eagles' timeout. Duke maintained its edge before back-to-back Lindovska kills knotted it up at 23-all. American closed out the set with another kill by Lindovska and a pair from McCaddin as it took a 2-0 match advantage into the break following the 26-24 win.

The Blue Devils opened the third set with a 9-2 lead but the Eagles battled back with a 15-1 run to take a 17-10 advantage. Duke battled back with a 9-1 run to cut American's advantage to 23-22. But the Eagles were able to complete the sweep with back-to-back kills by Lindovska for the 25-22 victory. 

Smidova posted her second straight double-double in the tournament with 35 assists and 15 digs. Three players notched double-digit kills with Lindovska tallying 13, Crum adding 11 and McCaddin notching 10 points. Crum finished with 21 digs to lead American and McCaddin posted eight blocks while hitting a team-best .429. The Eagles outhit the Blue Devils .204 to .110 in the match.

Sklar led Duke with a double-double, recording 11 kills and 13 digs and Jeme Obeime added 11 kills. Maggie Deichmeister paced the offense with 29 assists and Chelsea Cook and Tucker had five blocks apiece. 

American will take on top-seeded Texas on Friday, December 13 in Lincoln, Neb. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.