WASHINGTON - The 17th straight win was the biggest yet for American University volleyball as the Eagles (24-7) claimed their 16th Patriot League Championship since joining the conference in 2001 and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history. Top-seeded AU dropped the second set to Army (22-10) but rebounded and ultimately won the match in four sets by scores of 25-18, 22-25, 25-22 and 25-16.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles led nearly the entire first set, using a 4-0 run to pull away and lead 22-16. Attack errors by Army on each of the last two points ended things in favor of AU.
• Blocking was huge for American in the opening set as the Eagles recorded seven blocks to Army's two, and out-hit the Black Knights .300 to .028.
• Helena Elbaek and Zeynep Uzen both came up big with six and five kills in the first set, respectively. 
• The second set got away from AU after a 21-18 lead turned into a 24-21 deficit. The Eagles fought off one set point but Courtney Horace knocked down a kill for Army to even the match at 1-1.
• Army kept momentum through much of the third set and led 17-12 before the Eagles began to chip away.
• Still trailing 21-18, AU rattled off five straight points that included kills by four different players.
• Army got one back put AU's lead at one, 23-22, but an Army error followed by an Olivia Wassner kill ended the set and put the Eagles up 2-1. 
• Things were tight early on in the fourth and final set, but after a final tie at 9-9, AU began to dominate.
• Onuchi Ndee put down five kills on nine attempts with zero errors in the fourth set, and the Eagles displayed their best hitting of the match (.359) to win easily, 25-16.
• Elbaek finished with a match-high 16 kills while Uzen recorded her second double-double of the tournament with 11 kills and 11 digs.
• Jeanne Westney led AU with seven blocks, tying her season high for a second straight match.
• Kristen Largay led four players who reached double digits in digs, finishing out her home career in Bender Arena with a match-high 22 digs.
• Wassner put up 25 assists, seven digs, four kills and two aces despite missing close to two full sets with an ankle issue.

PATRIOT LEAGUE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Olivia Wassner, AU (MVP)
• Helena Elbaek, AU
• Jeanne Westney, AU
• Anna Oglivie, Army
• Courtney Horace, Army
• Alli Lowe, Colgate
• Paige Miles, Navy

UP NEXT

• The Eagles will await the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1. Check back to AUEagles.com for further details.

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).