WASHINGTON - The long hiatus is over and American University volleyball wasted little time in getting back to its winning ways, shaking off some rust and posting a 3-1 win over visiting Bucknell after 15 months without a match. The Eagles (1-0, 1-0 PL) beat the Bison (0-1, 0-1) by scores of 25-17, 25-23, 18-25 and 25-22.
NOTABLE
- Senior Helena Elbaek was the go-to hitter all night long, getting a whopping 79 attempts. She put down 28 of those for kills while also serving up four aces and recording five blocks.
- Elbaek's performance leaves her just 36 kills shy of hitting the 1,000-kill mark in her career. She will be the 14th player in program history to do so.
- In her first match at American, junior transfer Carlie Fikse got a starting nod and knocked down seven kills, hitting .455.
- Sophomore Zeynep Uzen nearly reached a double-double with 11 digs to go with nine kills, and senior libero Chiara Bosetti led all players with 23 digs.
- Freshman Allie Burke got a start in her first career match and led the Eagles with six blocks.
- The win for AU moves the all-time series with Bucknell to 48-1 in favor of the Eagles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It looked like somewhat smooth sailing for AU in the opening set as the Eagles created a little distance early on and held it for a 23-17 win.
- The second set was anything but smooth with eight ties and three lead changes. AU fell into a 17-12 hole before Elbaek took over on the serve and eventually gave the Eagles an 18-17 lead on two straight aces.
- The final tie of the second set came at 22-22 before Elbaek connected with freshman setter Tyra Areskoug for kills on three of the last four points.
- AU was never able to take a lead in the third set as the Eagles struggled with errors and had no answer for Bucknell's Libby Nieporte in the final stretch.
- The fourth set saw AU rebound with its best hitting of the night, posting 20 kills to just five errors. It was a close set with 11 ties and six lead changes, but the Eagles were scrappy at the finish to break open a 22-22 tie and win the match.
UP NEXT
- The weekend series with Bucknell continues in Lewisburg, Pa. with a 7 p.m. match on Sunday, March 7.
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