The American University volleyball team secured the record for the best start in program history with consecutive wins over Weber State, 3-0, and La Salle, 3-0, to remain undefeated on the year and win its third straight tournament title at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Philadelphia, Pa. The back-to-back wins also put Head Coach Barry Goldberg one victory away from his 600th career win. 

American (10-0) opened the day with its eighth sweep of the year against Weber State (4-8). The Wildcats took an early 5-4 lead on an ace by Samantha Staker before four straight tallies gave the Eagles an 8-5 advantage. Weber State battled back to cut American's lead to 14-13 on a kill from Mariah Kahawaii but the Eagles held off a rally and closed out the set with an 11-3 run for the 25-16 win.

American jumped out to an 11-3 advantage to open the second set and took a 10-point lead on a block by Kristyna Lindovska and Kelly McCaddin for the 18-8 advantage, forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout. The two teams traded points before back-to-back kills from Lindovska and Morgan Hendrix put the Eagles up 24-12. A kill from Rebecca Fuchs prevented set point but Lindovska answerd with a kill for the 25-13 victory.

American continued its dominant play in the final set, going up 9-2 early and using an 8-3 run to build a 20-9 lead. The Wildcats called a timeout and tried to cut the Eagles' advantage, but American held on to its double-digit cushion and closed out the match with consecutive scores for the 25-13 win and 3-0 sweep.

Juliana Crum led the Eagles with 13 kills, hitting .458 in the match, while Lindovska added 12 kills with a .357 hitting percentage. Monika Smidova paced the offense with 25 assists and two aces and Crum and Megan Rosburg notched nine digs apiece. As a team, American hit .422 for the match with just seven errors. 

Weber State was held to a .082 hitting percentage as a team with Audrey Biggs leading the Wildcats with 11 kills. Whitney Hunt posted 13 assists and McKay Tarbox registered 10 digs.

The Eagles held La Salle (1-11) to a -.026 hitting percentage in the second match of the day on its way to a 3-0 win. American took a 7-0 lead before the Explorers battled back with four straight points to make it a three-point game. A kill from Crum sparked a 12-2 run by the Eagles and American closed out the set with a kill by McCaddin for the 25-12 win. 

The Eagles opened the second set with eight straight points and continued to roll, going up 17-6 on a kill from Lindovska. After back-to-back points by from La Salle, American registered four straight tallies for the 21-8 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Lindovska and Sarah Katz gave the Eagles a 25-12 victory for the 2-0 match lead.

The Explorers got on the board first in the third set before American regained the lead and used a 5-0 run to take a 15-7 advantage. The Eagles continued to hold off a La Salle rally, winning 25-13. 

Lindovska recorded a team-high 11 kills, hitting .421 for the match, and registering five blocks while Hendrix added eight errorless kills for a .889 hitting percentage. Kylann Scheidt notched 22 assists with five blocks and Rosburg had 16 digs.

Laura Kuhlmeier and Elena Lamping led the Explorers with five kills apiece. Michelle Healy finished with seven assists and Kuhlmeier added seven digs.

Following the weekend's matches, Smidova was named the Most Valuable Setter, Crum was recognized as the Most Valuable Outside Hitter and Hendrix was honored as the Most Valuable Middle Hitter.

The Eagles head out on a California road trip next weekend to compete in the UC Irvine Invitational. American takes on host UC Irvine and Fresno State to open the tournament on Friday, September 20 at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. EST, respectively. The Eagles close out the event against Xavier on Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. EST and visit Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, September 22 at 4 p.m. EST before heading back to the East Coast.