WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team got back into the win column on Wednesday night, scoring a 3-0 victory (25-15, 25-13, 25-19) over visiting Coppin State. The win moves AU to 4-2 on the season, while Coppin State drops to 4-4. 

Senior Kelly McCaddin finished the match for American with a team-leading 11 kills and five blocks, while freshman Erin Swartz added seven kills and registered a match-high .429 hitting percentage.

The first set started out evenly matched, with the score tied at 10-10. However, AU began to pull away, closing out the set on a 15-5 run. American, led by four kills each from juniors Sarah Katz and Allison Cappellino, hit .407 in the opening set and scored four service aces. 

AU was dominant in the second set, holding Coppin State to a .037 hitting percentage. After American started the set with a 5-1 advantage, Coppin State never got closer than three points the rest of the way. McCaddin led AU in the set with four kills and a pair of service aces.

With a different lineup in the final set, American had a closer battle with Coppin State. However, AU was able to remain control, despite a pair of scoring runs by CSU. Again, McCaddin paced American's offense, recording six kills, while junior Megi Dervishi added five of her career-high six kills. 

“It was a good match to get back on our home court here, and get some momentum going a little bit,” said American head coach Barry Goldberg. “Our next game with Penn State, one of the top teams in the country, is really going to test our block and our attacking. We need to really hang in there and get physical, because they are one of the most physical teams in the country.”

“Then we get Kansas, which is number 24, so we'll see where we are with that,” continued Goldberg. “Villanova is also a really good team, so we're going to have our work cut out for us this weekend.” 

AU will meet third-ranked Penn State and 24th-ranked Kansas, along with Villanova, at the Villanova Classic, being held this weekend, Sept. 12-13. The Eagles will face the Nittany Lions on Friday, while taking on the Jayhawks and Wildcats on Saturday.