HAMILTON, N.Y. – Senior Sarah Katz finished with 15 kills, 17 digs and six blocks to lead the American University volleyball team came out to a come-from-behind five-set victory (25-19, 23-25, 17-25, 15-5) over Colgate on Friday evening.

Allison Cappellino added 12 kills for the Eagles, who improved to 14-5 overall and 6-0 in the Patriot League. Meanwhile, the Raiders dropped to 5-12 overall and 3-3 in the league.

"It was an incredibly hard-fought match," said American head coach Barry Goldberg. "I'm really pleased we came out on top."

In the opening set, the Eagles went on an early 7-1 run to take control and never relinquished their lead. However, the tables were turned in the second set as Colgate took command to earn a 21-10 advantage.

Despite its large deficit, American continued to battle in set two, putting together a 13-1 run to take the lead. However, the Raiders closed out the set with three straight points, handing the Eagles their first set loss in league play this season.

The third set started out close, but Colgate used a 7-0 run to pull ahead and retain the advantage. The Eagles continued their poor hitting with a mark of .024 in the third set to fall behind in the match, 2-1.

Set four proved to be the closest set of the match with nine ties and three lead changes as the two teams remained within three points of each other at all times. In the end, it was American that prevailed, recording seven blocks and holding Colgate to a negative attack percentage.

With momentum on their side, the Eagles never trailed in the deciding set, ending it on a 7-1 run. Ten of AU's 15 points in the fifth set came from kills, as American hit a match-high .421.

 "We struggled in sets two and three, making uncharacteristic errors that put us in a hole in the middle of each set," said Goldberg. "They did a good job serving and were able to take us out of our offense.

"In set four, our block came alive to get us through, as our attacking continued to struggle. It was really great to see our team hit well in the final set to get the road win."

AU finished the match with 16 team blocks, led by sophomore Erin Swartz with seven assisted blocks. At the service line, Colgate had the edge, scoring 10 aces, led by five from Kathleen Harris.

The Eagles wrap up the weekend with another challenging contest, as they visit Lehigh on Saturday for a 4 p.m. match. The Mountain Hawks, who currently sit in second place in the Patriot League standings, handed AU its only conference loss of the 2014 season, a 3-2 decision in Bethlehem.