WASHINGTON – Using a balanced offensive attack, the American University volleyball team downed Army West Point in straight sets on Friday evening at Bender Arena.

The Eagles recorded set scores of 25-15, 25-20, 25-14, to improve to 11-5 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League. Meanwhile, the Black Knights fell to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Senior outside hitters Allison Cappellino and Sarah Katz each registered nine kills to lead the Eagles' offense, while sophomore Erin Swartz added eight kills with a .467 attack percentage.

Also turning in a standout performance for American was senior setter Monika Smidova, who finished with 31 assists and a team-leading 16 digs. She also registered four blocks, sharing the team lead with sophomore Loren McKenzie.

American never trailed in the first set, pulling away with a 13-4 run to finish the set. The second set was much closer, featuring eight tie scores and three lead changes. Army West Point held the advantage early on, but the Eagles finished strong, breaking a 16-16 tie with a 9-4 run.

AU dominated the third set, opening with a 7-1 advantage. The Black Knights, who were held to a .030 hitting percentage in the final set, never got closer than five points the rest of the way, as American cruised to its 18th-straight home victory against a Patriot League opponent.

"It was a good win for us tonight for sure," said American head coach Barry Goldberg. "Army's a good team. We continued to block better as the match went on. We started to get really aggressive at the net and we attacked better.

"It was a big defensive effort to stop them and a good offensive effort on our part."

American is back in action tomorrow afternoon, when it hosts Holy Cross at 2:00.