WASHINGTON - After twice coming back from a set down in its Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal against Loyola Maryland, American University volleyball prevailed with a fifth-set victory that sends the Eagles to the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 20 in Hamilton, N.Y. Fourth-seeded AU will face second-seeded Lafayette at 7 p.m., while sixth-seeded Navy plays top-seeded Colgate at 4 p.m.

NOTABLE

• All-Patriot League First Team selection Zeynep Uzen had another outstanding match, finishing with 22 kills and nine digs.
• The Eagles' All-PL Second Team selection Carlie Fikse tied her career high with 13 kills to go with a career-high nine blocks, consistently performing for AU all night long.
• Esma Sipahi and Tyra Areskoug each totaled double-digit assists with 25 and 21, respectively.
• Chiara Bosetti came within three digs of her career high, leading all players in the match with 35. Rachael Bennett added 12 digs.
• The Eagles totaled 14 team blocks in a strong effort, getting nine from Fikse, six from Katie Putney and four from Allie Burke.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was tight early, but the Greyhounds began to pull away around the midpoint of the set.
• Down 22-18, the Eagles came back to within two and later fought off one set point with a Burke-Areskoug block, but lost 25-22.
• Loyola's Abby Hamilton had eight kills in just the first set (25 in the match), while AU was led by Uzen with four and Fikse with three.
• American took a 4-0 lead to start the second set, but it was neck-and-neck down the stretch. The Eagles went up 22-21 on a Bosetti service ace, 23-21 on a Fikse-Putney block, and 24-21 on a Fikse kill. 
• The Greyhounds fought off two set points before Fikse took charge and posted a kill for a 25-23 win.
• Loyola Maryland took a big lead in the third set and held it, ultimately winning 25-18 and posting just four attack errors compared to 10 for the Eagles.
• Facing a must-win set, American responded with an 8-0 run midway through for a 20-11 lead. Uzen set AU up with set point, and a block for Putney and Burke gave AU a 25-18 win.
• The final set saw the Eagles up just a point at 7-6 before exploding for six straight points to leave no doubt.
• Inbal Peleg knocked down back-to-back kills for points 12 and 13, and a Sipahi solo block was the final play for a 15-7 victory.

NEXT UP

• American will face Lafayette at 7 p.m. in the PL semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 20 at Colgate. 

KEEP UP WITH US

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