American University vs. Bucknell University volleyball in Bender Arena on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (Photo: Scott Fields)
Scott Fields
3
Winner American Americ 11-8,3-4 Patriot
1
Holy Cross HolyCr 2-16,0-7 Patriot
Winner
American Americ
11-8,3-4 Patriot
3
Final
1
Holy Cross HolyCr
2-16,0-7 Patriot
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
American Americ 25 34 15 25 (3)
Holy Cross HolyCr 21 32 25 22 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Volleyball Digs Deep in 3-1 Patriot League Road Win at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. - It took over 100 digs to get the job done, but American University volleyball won its first Patriot League road match of the season with a 3-1 defeat of Holy Cross on Friday night. The Eagles (11-8, 3-4) and Crusaders (2-16, 0-7) truly battled it out in the second set before AU prevailed, 34-32.

NOTABLE
  • American's 101 digs tied its high this season, with Rachael Bennett's 30 digs leading the way. 
  • Inbal Peleg posted a career-high 24 digs and Esma Sipahi came up with a career-high 17 digs to go with 32 assists for a double-double. 
  • Sipahi also recorded five kills, hit .308 and tied for the team lead with five blocks which also ties her career high.
  • With 16 kills, Carlie Fikse tied her career high. She also hit a match-best .560 and tied for the team lead with five blocks.
  • Another career high came from Megan Tamisiea with 11 kills.
  • The Eagles got a second double-double from Maya Mrus, her first of the season, as she posted 13 kills along with 13 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • American found itself down 12-8 in the first set but rallied to go ahead 15-14 with a 7-2 run.
  • After a first-set tie at 16-16, the Eagles pulled ahead 19-16 and stayed up the rest of the way, closing out the set with three straight points including Fikse's fourth kill for the 25-21 win
  • An apparent 22-17 lead in the second set was overturned after a Holy Cross challenge, setting the stage for what would be a grueling back and forth the rest of the way.
  • Holy Cross ended up rallying to earn the first set point of many, but American fought it off just like the Eagles would go on to eventually fight off two others. Even more impressively, the Crusaders were on the wrong end of set point seven times before AU finally strung two points together to win it, 34-32 on a Sipahi kill.
  • AU finished the second set with 22 kills compared to 16 for Holy Cross, but was out-blocked 7-2 by the Crusaders.
  • The Eagles carried that momentum into the start of the third set in jumping out to a 5-1 lead, but Holy Cross had it tied up at 8-8 and then surged ahead. AU was unable to mount a comeback and lost the set 25-15.
  • Both teams posted exactly 14 kills and four attack errors in the fourth set, but a couple extra aces and one extra block for AU made the difference
  • Sipahi's fifth block was a solo one that ended the match with the Eagles getting a 25-22 fourth-set win.
UP NEXT
  • The Eagles will continue on their road trip, leading to Lafayette for a 4 p.m. match on Saturday, Oct. 8. Next week, AU will be back home to host Howard at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
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