The Eagles, now 7-5, beat the Bears, 25-20, 25-17 and 26-24 in snapping a three-match losing streak. Morgan State fell to 0-11 on the season.

 

Kennedy Etheridge finished with 37 assists and led the Eagles with three blocks. Kazala had a team-high eight digs for AU, while leading the American offense in kills for the 10th time in a dozen matches this season.

 

Natashia Barker had 12 kills to lead the Bears, with setter Roi Wallace finishing with 26 assists and nine digs.

 

AU's early season injury woes continued as Jasmine Ellison left the game in the third set with an injury. The Eagles are already playing without five players on the roster.

 

"We feel so bad for all the players dealing with difficulties in injuries," said AU head coach Barry Goldberg. "Each one of the injuries has been out of our control. It's a tough time for us to figure out our way forward.

 

"We have good group of people playing for our team, but one-by-one we have been having difficulties. We hope to get players healthy enough to play a role with our team in the next few weeks."

 

AU used a 5-1 run to take a 19-14 lead in the opening set. The Bears were able to rally for the last of 10 ties in the set to even the score at 19-19. But AU closed the set with three straight kills from Shannon Webb to win 25-20. Webb finished the match with eight kills.

 

AU pulled out to a 6-1 lead in the second set. Morgan State pulled within 8-6, but never pulled even thereafter and the Eagles remained in control for a 25-17 win.

 

American led 14-8 in the third set before the Eagles pulled even. There were seven ties in the final set, with the last coming at 24-24 after MSU saved two match points. But kills from Webb and Loren McKenzie closed out the win for AU.

 

American opens play in the Hofstra/Stony Brook Invitational on Friday with a noon matchup against Fort Wayne. The Eagles play at Stony Brook on Friday at 7:30 and play at Hofstra on Saturday at 3 p.m.

 

The Eagles open Patriot League play on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. against Bucknell and face Lafayette on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. Tickets for all AU volleyball home matches are available at www.aueagles.com/tickets.