BUFFALO, N.Y. - The competition weekend ended on a high note for American University volleyball, as the Eagles beat Duquesne 3-1 to improve to 5-4 for the season. Thus ends a nine-match opening run that saw AU play just twice on its home court, but the Eagles will now return home for four of their next five matches.

NOTABLE

• Junior Asli Celikkol tied her career high with 15 kills to lead AU, also posting eight digs and serving up two aces.
• The Eagles got another strong performance from senior Fanny Ahman in her second consecutive start at libero. She led the team with 12 digs and also served four aces.
• Senior Carlie Fikse tied her career high with 12 kills while also exactly matching her career-high hitting percentage of .611. Fikse is the Patriot League's current leader in hitting percentage this season.
• Junior Inbal Peleg recorded 35 assists, six digs and four kills.
• Junior Zeynep Uzen posted 11 kills and five digs, sophomore Katie Putney led the team with six blocks, and sophomore Allie Burke was right behind her with five blocks.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH GOLDBERG

• "It was good to walk away with a win in four, especially when we were tied at 20-20 in the fourth set. Fanny's two aces and Katie Putney's block was the lift we needed to finish."
• "Carlie worked hard to finish with 12 kills and Asli was solid on the outside. Now we turn our attention to playing our best in Bender next weekend."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first saw eight early ties, the last at 14-14, before American started to pull away. Fikse had two kills in a 3-0 run that helped give the Eagles momentum down the stretch, and they won 25-21 to take a 1-0 lead.
• The Dukes turned things around in a big way in the second set, serving up five aces and recording 13 kills compared to eight for AU. They led early on and never let up, eventually taking a 25-13 win to even the match at 1-1.
• Celikkol got the third set off to a totally different start for the Eagles, knocking down four kills in a 7-3 run. She would end up with 11 kills in the third set alone, lifting AU to a 25-17 win.
• The third set saw the Eagles' best hitting of the morning as they posted 15 kills with just three errors and hit .375 compared to .194 for Duquesne.
• In an back-and-forth third set, neither team gained much footing until near the end. With the teams tied up at 20-20, AU closed out the match on a 5-1 run that included two aces for Ahman.

NEXT UP

• The Eagles will face their first Top 25 team in three years, hosting #11 Oregon for a 7 p.m. Bender Blue Out match on Friday, Sept. 17.

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).