WASHINGTON - Playing in front of fans for the first time in two years, American University volleyball did not disappoint its crowd of close to 700 in the 2021 home opener. The Eagles (2-1) rallied for a four-set win over visiting George Washington (0-2) by scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-20 and 25-19.

NOTABLE

• Junior Zeynep Uzen averaged close to four kills per set for the weekend, closing out three strong performances with a team-high 16-kill effort.
• In her first double-double of the season, junior Asli Celikkol posted 11 kills, 11 digs and a hitting percentage of .400.
• Junior Inbal Peleg also tallied a double-double and was close to a triple-double for the second time in three matches. She posted 20 assists, 10 digs and seven kills.
• Senior Carlie Fikse tied her career high of seven blocks while also hitting .500 with five kills.
• Celikkol, freshman Esma Sipahi and graduate student Chiara Bosetti all served up two aces, with Bosetti also leading the Eagles with 14 digs.
• Sipahi led the Eagles with 22 assists while also posting five digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The home crowd fired the Eagles up from the beginning, and they led nearly all the way through the opening set. 
• In the second, the Colonials pulled away after a few early ties thanks to a strong showing on the block. 
• AU posted just three hitting errors in sets one, three and four, but had 10 in the second set and was unable to mount a late comeback.
• The teams played back and forth volleyball with many early ties in the third set, but after a 12-12 tie the Colonials pulled away with a 6-2 run.
• Down 18-14, American came out of a time out and rattled off nine straight points to take control. Celikkol was on fire, posting five kills in the 9-0 run with the last giving AU a 23-18 lead.
• Putney ended the third set with a kill for a 25-20 win.
• The Eagles kept that momentum through the fourth set, jumping out to a 7-1 lead. GW fended off a few match points but AU was too far ahead and won 25-19.

NEXT UP

• The Eagles will be on the road in North Carolina for three contests next weekend, starting with a 6 p.m. match at North Carolina A&T on Friday, Sept. 3.

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).