BALTIMORE, Md. – Hitting a season-high .407, the American University volleyball team defeated Loyola Maryland in straight sets, 25-12, 25-19, 25-18, on Wednesday evening.

With the victory, the Eagles improved to 16-5 overall and concluded the first half of their Patriot League schedule with an 8-0 mark. Meanwhile, the Greyhounds dropped to 6-16 overall and 1-6 in the league.

Senior Allison Cappellino finished with 10 kills to lead American, while sophomore Erin Swartz added eight kills. In addition, senior Megi Dervishi hit a team-best .667 with four kills on six attempts, while sophomore libero Hoakalei Dawson recorded a match-high 16 digs.

In the opening set, the Eagles got out to a 6-1 lead, but the Greyhounds battled back to earn a 9-8 advantage. American responded with a 15-2 run to take a commanding lead as Swartz and Cappellino combined for 11 kills in the set.

AU never trailed in the second set, earning its largest advantage at 22-13. Despite a late rally, Loyola never got closer than five points. Meanwhile, the final set started out close, but a scoring run by the Eagles gave American a 22-12 lead. The Greyhounds scored the next five points, but it was not enough to get past AU, which earned its 14th three-set win of the season.

"I thought we came on strong and were pretty aggressive in hitting the ball," said American head coach Barry Goldberg. "We need to be more communicative in our game play, as we let a few balls fall between players.

"Overall, we attacked well and had good contributions from many players. It was a good road win in Baltimore to finish out the first half of the league."

American is back in action on Friday, Oct. 16, with a non-conference matchup versus Bethune-Cookman. The contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m. in Bender Arena.