WASHINGTON - After winning Patriot League Championships in 16 of its first 19 years in the league, American University volleyball will go for its 17th title this weekend. The Eagles (4-3) are the No. 4 seed in the PL Championships, and are playing at No. 1 seed Colgate (7-1) in the semifinals at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 2 on ESPN+.

QUICK INFO

• Date/Time: Friday, April 2 / 3 p.m.
• Site: Hamilton, N.Y. (Cotterell Court)
• Series History: American leads, 44-5
• TV: ESPN+

INSIDE THE SERIES

• American leads the all-time series 44-5, with four of those losses coming at Colgate.
• The teams split regular season matches in 2019. The Raiders handed AU its first and only PL loss, 3-1 on Sept. 27, but the Eagles swept the Raiders at home on Oct. 26.
• AU and Colgate last met in the Patriot League Tournament in the semifinals on Nov. 17, 2018, with AU prevailing in five sets.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• The Eagles finished the regular season with back-to-back wins to earn a spot in the Patriot League Championships, after suffering back-to-back Patriot League losses for the first time since 2018 and only the second time since joining the league in 2001. 
• Senior Helena Elbaek, who leads all players in NCAA Division I with 5.26 kills per set, was named to the All-Patriot League First Team for the third year in a row after earning Second Team honors in her freshman season.
• Elbaek posted 24 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Lafayette on March 12, getting the 1,000th kill of her career along the way. It was the most kills in three sets for a PL player in six years, and she was named PL Player of the Week on March 15. 
• Freshman setter Tyra Areskoug, the reigning PL Rookie of the Week, is averaging 9.25 assists per set to rank second in the PL, while senior libero Chiara Bosetti's 4.59 digs per set rank third.
• Hall of Fame Head Coach Barry Goldberg is in his 32nd season with a record of 778-281. He has the 6th-most wins of any active Division I coach.
• The Eagles, winners of 17 straight matches prior to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, won the Patriot League Championship and received an automatic NCAA berth for a 16th time in the 19 years since joining the league in 2001.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT COLGATE

• Leading Colgate is senior Alli Lowe, the 2019 & 2020 Patriot League Player of the Year and 2019 AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention selection. Lowe was recently named one of 30 candidates for the national 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award.
• Lowe's 18 kills in Colgate's most recent match, a 3-0 sweep of Lafayette on March 21, moved her into third all-time in Colgate program history with 1,319 career kills.
• In that same match, senior Bridget Kolsky recorded her third 20-plus dig performance of the season and moved into fifth all-time in program history with 1,221 career digs.
• The Raiders went 24-8 overall in 2019 and went 15-1 in Patriot League play to share the regular season title with American. The 24 wins tied for second-most in program history.
• Head Coach Ryan Baker, the 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year who is now in his 15th season, led the Raiders to the NIVC Quarterfinals. 
• From that squad, the Raiders returned 11 of 17 players after graduating six, while four newcomers joined the program. 

ELBAEK HONORED BY PATRIOT LEAGUE

• For the third straight year, Helena Elbaek was named to the All-Patriot League First Team in the midst of another impressive season.
• Elbaek has earned postseason honors in each year of her career after garnering All-PL Second Team honors as a freshman in 2017.
• Elbaek and the Eagles faced a must-win situation in the final match of the regular season on March 28, and got the job done largely thanks to her incredible attacking game.
• She knocked down 20 kills and hit .224 in a 3-1 victory over Navy that gave AU the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Championships.
• Earlier this season, Elbaek posted her 1,000th career kill, becoming only the 14th player in program history to achieve the feat. 
• She now has 1,057 kills following the conclusion of the regular season and ranks 12th all-time in program history. 

CHAMELEON CHIARA

• Senior libero Chiara Bosetti, despite standing just 5-7, was listed as an outside hitter and played that position for her first year at American in 2019.
• She once posted a double-double of 10 kills and 16 digs against George Washington on Aug. 30, 2019.
• Bosetti's defensive abilities were often on display, however, and in the offseason she transitioned into a back row player for good.
• Her 4.59 digs per set rank third in the Patriot League, and she has twice tallied 20 or more digs this season.

SWEDISH STAR

• It didn't take freshman Tyra Areskoug too long to earn the position of starting setter for the Eagles in her debut season.
• She has been impressive ever since, particularly in the final weekend of the regular season when she tallied two assist-dig double-doubles and was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
• Areskoug, majoring in international studies, has represented the Swedish Junior and Senior National Teams.

VIRTUALLY "PHIL BENDER" ARENA PRESENTED BY GEICO

• American University Athletics has announced a new virtual ticket campaign in an effort to sell out Bender Arena this season.
• This new initiative, presented by "TEAM AU" partner GEICO, challenges Eagles fans and alumni to sell out each seat in Bender Arena for the 2020-21 year. 
• The "AU Founder" ticket price of $18.93 commemorates the year AU was founded. Click HERE to support AU Athletics and AU Volleyball by buying virtual tickets. 

HOW TO WATCH ESPN+

• A subscription to ESPN+ is available for purchase via ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or the ESPN App. Fans can access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed. To subscribe, click here. It costs $5.99/month or $59.99/year.

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).