Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – The American University volleyball team (5-5) faced a battle in its fourth match in as many days, closing the Blue Devil Classic with a 3-1 loss (25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 26-28) to Northwestern (7-2).

American opened the three-match tournament on Friday with a sweep against Duke at historic Cameron Indoor Arena, prompting flashbacks to the 3-0 victory over the Blue Devils during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. American faced tough competition in its final two matches though, falling to Georgia, 3-1, and Northwestern, 3-1. AU kicked off the weekend on Wednesday with a 3-0 victory at Norfolk State.

MATCH NOTES

• Junior Helena Elbaek and freshman Zeynep Uzen led the Eagles with a dozen kills each followed by freshman Asli Celikkol with 11. Celikkol added 13 digs to complete her first career double-double.
• Junior Olivia Wassner also had a strong performance with 41 assists and tying her career-high with four service aces, all during the first set.
• Senior Kristen Largay picked up a team-high 19 digs followed by the 13 from Celikkol and 10 from junior Chiara Bosetti.
• The Wildcats were led by an impressive 32-kill performance from Temi Thomas-Ailara, who also added a dozen digs for the double-double.
• Nia Robinson was next for Northwestern with 15 kills while Payton Chang contributed 41 assists and Allie Lindroth led the team with 17 digs.
• The Eagles had a strong start to the day, keeping just ahead of Northwestern for most of the first set before three services aces from Wassner contributed to a 6-1 run to give AU a comfortable cushion, 20-15.
• Another ace, this time from senior Jeanne Westney, brought the Eagles to a 23-18 advantage but they were held there after an error and two kills from Thomas-Ailara narrowed the gap to two.
• An AU timeout slowed the Wildcats' advance and the Eagles were able to take the set after a pair of final points from freshman Onuchi Ndee and Uzen.
• Fatigue from the three earlier matches began to show in the second set as the Eagles battled to keep pace with Northwestern. Key kills from Uzen, Celikkol, and Elbaek kept AU within striking distance, but a series of short bursts from the Wildcats steadily widened the gap to five points, 25-20.
• The Eagles retook control of the match early in the third set, picking up a quick 5-0 run off three kills from Elbaek and one from Westney. The Wildcats found their footing, though, eventually tying the set at 9-9 and sending the two teams into a back-and-forth battle that seemed to be destined to end in AU's favor as they picked up a 20-17 lead. But, once again, the Wildcats rallied to eventually take the set, 25-23.
• AU struggled to combat the Wildcats' momentum in the fourth set, falling to an early three-point deficit before a 4-0 run put AU ahead, 11-10, and forced a Wildcats' timeout. A quick pair of kills by Uzen coming out of the timeout extend the Eagles' lead to 13 and prompted another Northwestern timeout.
• The Wildcats continued chipping away at American's lead until a 4-0 run of their own put AU back on its heels, 22-19. The Eagles kept pace with Northwestern, pushing the match into deuces and nearly retaking the lead before a pair of service errors and one final Wildcat kill closed the set and match, 28-26.   

NEXT UP
 
The Eagles are set to return home next week with matches against Delaware State (Sept. 17), Rutgers (Sept. 20), and Ole Miss (Sept. 21). Purchase tickets to all volleyball home games at AUEagles.com/Tickets.

For the latest on American University Volleyball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_Volleyball) and Instagram (@AU_Volleyball).