WASHINGTON (McDonough Arena) - Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Zeynep Uzen wasted no time showing why, posting 18 kills, five digs and four blocks in leading American University volleyball to a 3-0 sweep at Georgetown in the Eagles' season opener. The first set was an intense battle that AU pulled out 27-25, but the Eagles won the next two 25-17 and 25-20.

"Really, it was a pretty tough match," said head coach Barry Goldberg, "because in that first set, we were on the edge. Once we cracked that first set, we came out with a big roar in the second set and it started opening up the match for us and giving us a little breather. In your season opener when you're in your first set and on the edge, that's tough. We got off the edge pretty well and ended up getting better and better. By the end we controlled it pretty well. It was a nice match for our team."

NOTABLE

• Uzen hit a career-high .485, getting her 18 kills on 33 attempts with just two errors. Her four blocks were just one shy of a career high.
• Freshman Adelina Berisha had a strong debut match with nine kills and hit .500 with just two errors on 14 attempts.
• Getting her first meaningful action since 2019 was senior Onuchi Ndee, who started in the game and tied Uzen for match-high honors with four blocks.
• Graduate student Carlie Fikse hit .429 with eight kills and registered three blocks.
• Senior Inbal Peleg tallied 33 assists to lead all players.
• Junior transfer Maya Mrus served up three aces and recorded 12 digs in her debut, while senior libero Rachael Bennett led all players with 13 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The home crowd was into an intense first set that saw 15 ties and seven lead changes. 
• Early jitters for American had the Eagles trailing 11-7 before coming back to tie it at 11-11.
• The Hoyas were able to fight off a total of three set points, but after Uzen and Ndee combined for a block to make it 26-25, the freshman Berisha got the job donoe with a kill for the 27-25 victory.
• Uzen's 10th kill gave the Eagles a 16-10 lead in the second set and they cruised the rest oof the way. 
• Fikse and Uzen set up set point with a block, and Fikse scored again with a kill for the final set score of 25-17.
• The Eagles had their best stuff going in the third and final set, hitting .341 and leading the entire way.

NEXT UP

• American will host two matches in Bender Arena on Saturday, Aug. 27. First up is George Mason at noon, followed by George Washington at 7 p.m. for the team's 14th annual Bender Blue Out. For tickets to Saturday's matches and all matches this season, visit AUEagles.com/Tickets.

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).