HAMILTON, N.Y. – Kennedy Etheridge had a double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs, while Aleksandra Kazala had a team-high 11 kills as American University clinched the regular-season title and home-court advantage in the Patriot League Tournament with a sweep at Colgate Friday night.

The Eagles prevailed in a 25-19, 25-15, 25-19 sweep to extend their lead over the second-place Raiders to three games with two remaining. American has won or shared the regular-season title in 14 of the 16 years the Eagles have been a member of the Patriot League, including the last four straight.

 

American improved to 24-6 overall this season after winning their 15th straight match and moved to a perfect 14-0 in the PL. Colgate fell to 15-10 and 11-3 in the league.

 

Shannon Webb added nine kills for AU, with libero Kristen Largay finishing with a team-best 13 digs. Loren McKenzie had six blocks for the Eagles, who had eight aces as a team.

 

Katie Stansbury, Katie Stebbins and Jaelah Hutchison each had eight kills to lead Colgate, which had 35 kills and 23 attack errors in the match.

 

"Our team played a strong match on the road at Colgate tonight in front of big, loud crowd," said AU head coach Barry Goldberg. "They were ready to compete and our players stepped up well to control the match more and more as the sets progressed.

 

"Kennedy Etheridge once again proved to run a great offense and made our hitters look good over and over again. This was an important match and now we can claim the regular-season championship. We're happy to be hosting the tournament for teams who will compete for a bid to the NCAA's."

 

Colgate led 11-8 midway through the first set before the Eagles were able to take control. A 7-1 run gave AU a lead it would not relinquish, and Kazala's fifth kill of the set ended the first.

 

Four early attack errors by Colgate allowed the Eagles to take an 8-1 lead in the second set. The Raiders pulled back within 9-7, but AU extended its edge through the rest of the set.

 

AU led 9-4 in the third, but the sixth and final tie came at 18-18. Vela McBride served five straight points for the Eagles, who got eight kills in the final set from Webb to end the match.

 

American travels to Lehigh on Saturday at 4 p.m. before returning home for the final match of the regular season and Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. against Loyola Maryland.

The top four teams in the Patriot League will play at Bender Arena in the Patriot League Tournament on November 19 and 20.