WASHINGTON – An exciting weekend is coming up for fans of American University volleyball, as AU (5-4) get set to host No. 13 Oregon (6-1) on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. and Harvard (1-5) on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. Friday's match marks the return of the Bender Blue Out for volleyball, the 13th annual, as the Eagles look to upset the first ranked team they will play since 2018. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and
tickets are on sale for all home matches this season.
QUICK INFO
- Dates/Times: Friday, Sept. 17 vs. #13 Oregon (7 p.m.) / Saturday, Sept. 18 vs. Harvard
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Team Records: AU (5-4, 0-0 PL), Oregon (6-1, 0-0 Pac-12), Harvard (1-5, 0-0 Ivy League)
- Ticket Info: AUEagles.com/Tickets
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing (pxp), Sam Danai (analyst)
WEAR BLUE ON FRIDAY
- Fans are encouraged to wear blue to Friday's night's match in the spirit of this fun event for the AU and DMV volleyball communities.
- Those planning to attend are highly encouraged to purchase contactless e-tickets in advance of their arrival to Bender Arena.
MASK POLICY AT AU ATHLETICS EVENTS
- Individuals are required to wear masks to all American University athletics events, per current AU guidelines.
- We also encourage social distancing at all of our venues.
ENHANCED CONCESSIONS FOR FRIDAY'S MATCH
- AU Athletics has partnered with Gregorio's Trattoria to provide an enhanced dinnertime concessions menu for Friday's Bender Blue Out match.
- Fans can enjoy Gregorio's favorites from the concession stand on the Bender Arena concourse including menu selections of hot and cold sub sandwiches, pizza, chicken fingers, hot dogs and salads.
INSIDE THE SERIES
- American will look for its first-ever win over Oregon, with the Ducks holding a 2-0 lead in the series.
- The most recent meeting between AU and Oregon occurred just over 10 years ago, with the 16th-ranked Ducks sweeping the Eagles 3-0 on Aug. 31, 2011.
- The Eagles have not lost to Harvard in three previous meetings, most recently winning 3-1 in Cambridge on Sept. 2, 2017.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- The Eagles have been up and down so far this season, and are coming off a 2-1 week with wins over UMBC and Duquesne sandwiching a loss to undefeated West Virginia.
- In the UMBC win on Sept. 7, AU recorded 18 team blocks, the most for the program since 2017. It also ties for the third-most in a four-set match in NCAA Division I this season.
- Sophomore Allie Burke recorded a career-high 12 blocks vs. UMBC, the highest total in the NCAA so far in 2021 and just one block shy of tying American's all-time program record. She had two solo blocks and 10 block assists.
- Junior Zeynep Uzen, named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team, currently ranks fourth in the PL with 2.97 kills per set. Uzen's strongest match so far was at Georgetown in a five-set win when she tied her career high with 19 kills and added a career-high 19 digs.
- The Eagles are getting plenty of offense from junior Asli Celikkol with 2.24 kills per set. She is coming on strong as of late, knocking down a career-high 15 kills vs. UMBC along with a career-high six blocks, and tying her career-high with 15 kills vs. Duquesne.
- AU has used two seniors at libero so far, with Fanny Ahman getting the nod in the last three matches. She posted a career-high 18 digs in the UMBC win, and had 12 against both WVU and Duquesne. Senior libero Chiara Bosetti's 4.36 digs per set rank second in the PL.
- American finished the 2020-21 regular season with back-to-back wins to earn a spot in the PL Championships, after suffering back-to-back PL losses for the first time since 2018 and only the second time since joining the league in 2001. The Eagles' COVID-shortened season ended in the Patriot League semifinals with a narrow, 3-2 loss to host Colgate.
- Hall of Fame Head Coach Barry Goldberg is in his 33rd season with a record of 783-286. He has the 6th-most wins of any active Division I coach.
- The 2021 season marks American's 20th as a member of the Patriot League after joining in 2001. AU volleyball has won 16 of 19 possible league titles during that time.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT OREGON
- Oregon started the season at 6-0 including a sweep of #18 Penn State. The Ducks had lost only one set in six matches until coming up against #13 Minnesota and falling 3-2.
- Oregon will face both Howard (Thursday afternoon) and Harvard (Friday afternoon) before playing at American on Friday night.
- Junior outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller was recently the Pac-12 Player of the Week after posting a conference-leading 31 kills in the Ducks' four-set win at Rice (Sept. 2) and tallying 21 digs to complete the first 30-20 performance in the NCAA this season.
- Nuneviller was named to the AVCA All-America Second Team in 2020-21 after averaging 3.46 kills per set and 4.04 digs per set.
- Oregon finished the 2020-21 spring season with a 15-5 record and earned the No. 10 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. With its 14-4 record during the league-only regular season, Oregon placed second in the Pac-12 to match the program's highest-ever conference finish.
- Head Coach Matt Ulmer is in his fifth season at Oregon with a record of 65-48.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HARVARD
- The Crimson started the season at 1-5, and will face both Howard and #13 Oregon before playing the Eagles on Saturday night.
- Harvard returned 11 letterwinners, including junior Jaimie Rao who averaged a team-high 2.10 kills per set in 2019. Rao and senior Julia Beckmann lead the Crimson as captains for the 2021 season.
- Rao is the team's leader in kills so far with 3.70 kills per set, while first-year Lindsey Zhang has a team-high 3.48 digs per set. Sophomore Olivia Cooper leads Harvard with 1.16 blocks per set.
- The Crimson returned to the court on Sept. 3 for the first time since Nov. 16, 2019, a span of 657 days.
- Head coach Jennifer Weiss is in her 29th season at the helm with a record of 153-168 in the Ivy League. She has led the Crimson to three Ivy League titles and has guided 82 All-Ivy selections during her tenure.
- In Harvard's most recent season in 2019, the Crimson went 5-18 overall with a 2-10 mark in the Ivy League.
BURKE ON THE BLOCK
- Sophomore Allie Burke exploded for a career-high of 12 blocks in AU's 3-1 win vs. UMBC on Sept. 7.
- That total ranks as the most in any length match in the NCAA so far this season, is the most for a Patriot League player in three years, and is just one block shy of tying American's all-time single-match record.
- Burke tallied two solo blocks and 10 block assists in the victory.
- She currently ranks second in the Patriot League with 1.26 blocks per set.
GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY
- The 20 members of the 2020-21 Eagles represent five countries besides the United States, and 10 states within the U.S.
- The furthest traveler is junior setter Inbal Peleg, whose home in Haifa, Israel, is 5,840 miles from Washington, D.C.
- Within the United States, freshman Ariel Campbell hails from the furthest away. She's a native of California, specifically Rolling Hills Estates south of Los Angeles near the ocean.
TICKET INFO
- Tickets to these matches and all remaining AU Volleyball home matches are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE.
- AU Athletics asks that you consider pre-purchasing digital tickets prior to arriving on campus.
- The ticket office is transitioning to contactless tickets so that we may offer the safest and most effective way to minimize contact upon entry.
- Digital tickets also give fans more control in the management of tickets including the ability to forward/share ticket(s) with friends and family.
- You may either present digital tickets on a smart phone device or download and pre-print ticket(s) at home with a valid QR code.
- Thank you for your help and cooperation in advancing contactless ticketing for the health and safety of our entire AU community.
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 $6.99/month or $69.99/year.
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