HAMILTON, N.Y. - The All-Patriot League honorees for American University volleyball put on a show in leading the fourth-seeded Eagles to a 3-1 win over second-seeded Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Saturday night at Colgate. First team selection Zeynep Uzen posted a match-high 28 kills along with 11 digs, while second team selection Carlie Fikse tallied a career-high 15 kills. 

NOTABLE

• Uzen's double-double was her 14th of the season, and she limited her errors in hitting .400 for the match.
• Fikse had tied her previous career high in AU's most recent match earlier this week, and now set a new one with her 15 kills.
• Chiara Bosetti led AU with 23 digs, and Tyra Areskoug posted a match-high 43 assists.
• AU got some spark off the bench from Bridget Javitch who served up a match-high three aces.
• The Eagles dropped the first set and then gutted out two close wins before dominating in a 25-18 fourth-set victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles fell into a hole midway through the opening set, 18-12, and couldn't recover.
• Despite eight kills from Uzen in the first set to lead all players, AU fell 25-19 after committing nine attack errors to Lafayette's four.
• Big swings marked the second set, with the Eagles trailing 13-7 before turning things around in big way.
• AU used a 12-2 run that included two Javitch service aces to take a 19-15 lead.
• The Leopards came back to tie at 20-20 and then take a couple of one-point leads, the last at 23-22. Entering the match for Lafayette was PL Player of the Year Leanna Deegan who posted a couple of quick kills.
• Trailing by one, Uzen came up with back-to-back kills for set point and Javitch served up her third ace of the set for a 25-22 win that evened the match at 1-1.
• The third set was extremely intense with a total of 19 ties, but the terrific play of Fikse and Uzen pulled the Eagles through in the end.
• The Eagles had three set points fought off by the Leopards before finally getting back-to-back kills (from Uzen and Fikse) to end the set with a 28-26 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• American had much less trouble winning the fourth set, hitting an impressive .438 to Lafayette's .269 and taking it by a score of 25-18. Uzen added seven more kills in the fourth set including the match-winner.

NEXT UP

• American will face top-seeded Colgate at 4 p.m. in Sunday's PL Championship on ESPN+. The Eagles will be going for their 17th title in their 21st season since joining the PL in 2001. 

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).