HAMILTON, N.Y. - In a match that truly could have gone either way, American University volleyball came up just short. The Eagles (4-4) battled back from a 2-1 deficit but ultimately lost 17-15 at Colgate (8-1) in the fifth set of the Patriot League Championship semifinals. It was the first-ever semifinal loss for the Eagles, who have won 16 of 20 Patriot League titles since joining the conference in 2001.
NOTABLE
- In the final match of her career, senior Helena Elbaek led all players with 22 kills and hit .241. She also posted eight digs and three blocks.
- Junior Carlie Fikse knocked down a season-high 10 kills, recording zero errors on 20 attempts for a percentage of .500. She also tied for match-high honors with five blocks.
- In her best performance of the season, sophomore Zeynep Uzen recorded a double-double of 15 kills and 11 digs.
- Coming just one dig shy of her third straight double-double was freshman setter Tyra Areskoug with 47 kills and nine digs.
- Freshman Katie Putney tallied nine kills, and freshman Allie Burke hit .400 with four kills to go with four blocks.
- Senior Chiara Bosetti led the Eagles with 15 digs.
FIRST SET
- The opening set was back and forth early on before a 5-0 AU run that included an Uzen service ace put AU up 12-7.
- Colgate answered with its own 5-0 run, but the Eagles were quickly back on top yet again.
- In the end, it was AU's best set of the match with a hitting percentage of .432 to Colgate's .281.
- American closed out on a 4-1 run to take the set 25-20.
SECOND SET
- The second set was the tightest of the first four with 19 ties and eight lead changes.
- The score was tied at 18-18 for the 15th time before Colgate took a 20-18 lead.
- One more tie at 23-23 gave AU hope, but a kill for the Raiders followed by an AU error made it 25-23 Colgate.
THIRD SET
- American struggled the most in the third set, which saw just four ties and one lead change.
- After the last tie at 9-9, Colgate went ahead for good with a 4-0 run.
- The woes continued for AU the rest of the way, and the Eagles went down 2-1 in the match after a 25-18 loss.
FOURTH SET
- The momentum shifted back to the Eagles in the fourth set, as they came out with renewed energy.
- Areskoug and Fikse combined for a big block that gave AU an 8-3 lead.
- The Eagles had a commanding 23-14 lead before a 6-0 Colgate run made it 23-20.
- Finally, Elbaek and Putney got back-to-back kills for a 25-20 set win to send the match to a fifth.
FIFTH SET
- The final set was neck and neck the whole way.
- AU trailed 8-6 before an 8-8 tie, and the score was tied five more times.
- Uzen had a stretch of three kills in four points, and an Elbaek kill made it 11-10 AU to force a Colgate timeout.
- The Eagles had match point at 14-13, but Colgate fought it off.
- The Raiders thwarted their own match point with a service error, but the 15-15 tie was the last point for AU.
- Colgate closed the set and the match with a block and an ace, winning 17-15.
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