The American University volleyball team opened Patriot League play with a 3-0 sweep of Lafayette on Friday night in Easton, Pa. 

American (15-1, 1-0) jumped out to a 4-0 advantage before the Leopards were able to get on the board. A kill by Juliana Crum sparked a 7-1 run for the Eagles as it went up 16-7, forcing Lafayette to call a timeout. The Leopards were able to cut the lead to eight, but American continued to dominate play on its way to a 25-11 win.

Lafayette (8-5, 0-3) struck first in the second set, going up 3-1 and maintaining a slight edge before the Eagles knotted it up at 7-all on a kill by Morgan Hendrix and used a 7-1 run to pull away. The Leopards called a timeout and made it a six-point match on an error by Crum. American answered with four straight points as an Allison Cappellino ace made it an 11-point match, 23-12, before the Eagles put it away with a 25-13 victory. 

The Eagles went up 10-5 in the third set on a block by Bree Scarbrough and Kylann Scheidt. Lafayette fought back within two on ace by Lauren Pisauro but American pulled away again, recording six straight tallies for the 23-14 advantage. A kill by Scheidt put the score at 24-16, but the Leopards continued to hold off match point with back-to-back scores. Kelly McCaddin was able to secure the sweep for American with a kill to end the match with a 25-18 set three win.

Crum led the Eagles with 10 kills while Monika Smidova paced the offense with 25 assists. Cappellino notched five aces and 17 digs for American with Hendrix posting four blocks. The Eagles outhit Lafayette .312 to -.056 on the night, marking the second time American has held an opponent to a negative hitting percentage and the fifth time under .100. 

Karissa Ciliento led the Leopards with seven kills and Molly Belcher notched nine assists. Pisauro recorded a team-best 10 digs.

The Eagles continue its opening weekend of conference play when it takes on Bucknell on Saturday, September 28 at 5 p.m.