WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team has a big week with three home matches including a pivotal contest against league-leading Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 26, but first up is a contest vs. Loyola Maryland (10-11, 3-4) on Tuesday, Oct. 22 (7 p.m.) as the Eagles (13-7, 6-1) look for their seventh win in a row.

AU NOTES

• AU currently ranks second in the Patriot League, trailing only undefeated Colgate after a road loss to the Raiders in the PL opener on Sept. 27.
• Since then, the Eagles have gone undefeated, including sweeps of Lehigh, Bucknell and Holy Cross. AU was last at home on Oct. 12 when the Eagles beat Navy in five sets.
• As a team, the Eagles rank third in NCAA Division I with 2.01 service aces per set.
• After leading AU in kills (4.0 per set) in its wins this past weekend, freshman Zeynep Uzen was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
• Freshman Onuchi Ndee leads all players in the league with her .377 hitting percentage, and senior Kristen Largay's 4.32 digs per set rank third.
• Largay has 307 digs this season and needs just 66 more to tie the all-time school record of 1,865 digs set by Natasha Sylvain in 1994.
• Helena Elbaek leads AU with 3.43 kills per set which ranks her sixth in the PL.
• Junior Olivia Wassner leads the PL in service aces, averaging .59 per set, which also ranks her fifth in NCAA Division I.

LOYOLA MARYLAND NOTES

• The Greyhounds are coming off a three-set loss at Army West Point on Oct. 19. Ann Ernst tallied 10 kills for the Greyhounds, and Katie Forsythe led Loyola with 13 digs.
• Ernst recently accomplished a milestone that only four other Loyola players have reached, becoming the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.
• She logged her 1,000th dig in the October 11 match against Navy after crossing the 1,000-kill plateau last season. Through three-plus seasons and 106 career matches, Ernst has 1,393 kills and 1,023 digs.
• Ernst and Abby Hamilton have been the most prolific hitting tandem in the Patriot League this season, ranking first and second, respectively, in total kills.
• Ernst has posted 299 kills, while Hamilton has 291 in one additional set thus far for the Greyhounds.
• On a per-set basis, Ernst is second in the conference with 3.78 kills, while Hamilton checks in third at 3.64.
• Head coach Alija Pittenger is in her fifth season with the Greyhounds, and was named Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2018.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• The Eagles are 31-2 all-time against Loyola and have not lost to the Greyhounds since 1992.
• Last season, AU won 3-1 at home and barely edged Loyola on the road, 3-2.
• In 2017, American swept the Greyhounds in both meetings. 

TICKETS

• Tickets to all AU volleyball matches at Bender Arena are available throughout the season.
• Bring a group of 10+ and save over 40 percent off your purchase, available at $3 per person.
• Individual game tickets are available for $8 for adults, $5 for general admission, youth under 17 and seniors over 65. Military members, veterans and AU students are invited to join the Eagles for free admission with valid ID.
• CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS 
• For inquiries, e-mail clawed@american.edu or call 202.885.TIXX (8499).

For the latest on American University Volleyball, check in with AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_Volleyball), Instagram (@AU_Volleyball) and Facebook (AU.Volleyball).