WASHINGTON - In an impressive display across the board, the American University volleyball team avenged its only Patriot League loss of the season and took down previously undefeated Colgate in straight sets at Bender Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles (16-7, 9-1) currently hold the tiebreaker against the Raiders (16-6, 9-1) who needed four sets to beat AU back in late September.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• AU's hitting percentage of .391 was its second-best of the entire season thus far, as the Eagles posted 54 kills to just 11 errors.
• The Eagles cruised to 25-14 and 25-17 wins in the first two sets, and left little doubt at the end of the third with a 25-21 victory.
• Three players finished with double digits in kills for AU despite the quick match. Junior Helena Elbaek led the way with 15 kills while freshman Zeynep Uzen posted 14 and freshman Asli Celikkol added 12. 
• Elbaek and Celikkol posted outstanding hitting percentages of .520 and .440, respectively, while senior Vela McBride knocked down eight kills on 14 attacks with just two errors for a percentage of .429.
• Senior libero Kristen Largay led all players in the match with 14 digs. Largay now needs just four more digs to tie AU's program record of 1,865 set by Natasha Sylvain in 1994.
• In the second set, AU jumped out to leads of 8-1 and 10-2 and never looked back. The Eagles dominated offensively with 20 kills to Colgate's nine for set, and out-hit the raiders .342 to .147.
• The third set saw eight ties and two lead changes. Colgate was within a point of AU at 20-19, but Uzen and junior Olivia Wassner each knocked down a kill as the Eagles rattled off three straight points. The set and match point went to Celikkol as she posted her fifth kill of the frame.
• Wassner notched her second double-double of the week with 10 digs to go with 38 assists, and also had five blocks.
• Leading the way as AU tallied nine blocks to Colgate's three was freshman Onuchi Ndee with six blocks.

QUOTED

• "We still have have a bunch of matches on the road and a ways to go this season before we can say who's going to win or lose and where we'll be in the standings. But what's great to see is that our team is playing better. It's been eight or nine weeks now and we're starting to get to know each other a lot better. The new players are really adding to our success now, and certainly Asli and Zeynep after finding their way here and going through the ups and downs are starting to really show their grit and ability...overall it was very, very good teamwork and Olivia is a really big reason for it. She's really running the show and doing a great job." - Head Coach Barry Goldberg
• "You don't really get too many players who can come in and play as a freshman libero right away. I didn't know a lot about Kristen in the recruiting process...her and her dad came into my office and I found out she played for a club team in Arizona that I knew was good. I went to Nationals and saw her play and saw her really go after it. I think that first weekend here at AU she was named to the All-Tournament Team and she's been solid. She always works hard and she's doing a great job for us." - Head Coach Barry Goldberg

UP NEXT

• AU will play its next four matches on the road, starting with a 7 p.m. contest at Bucknell on Friday, Nov. 1.

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).