WASHINGTON - Barry Goldberg, legendary head coach of American University volleyball, reached another milestone in his incredible career on Saturday night as the Eagles beat George Washington to give Goldberg his 800th career victory. Now in his 34th season at the helm, Goldberg is an AU Athletics Hall of Famer, a 10-time Coach of the Year, and ranks fourth among active head coaches in career wins. The Eagles won the match by scores of 25-21, 21-25, 25-16 and 27-25.
NOTABLE
- The win came on the night of the 14th annual Bender Blue Out that saw the ninth-largest crowd in program history of 1,883.
- Goldberg's career has stayed on track remarkably, as his 400th career victory came in August of 2005, exactly 17 years ago. His 700th win occurred on Oct. 29, 2016, but the Eagles had to contend with a very shortened season in the six years since then.
- American needed a clutch defensive effort on many occasions, and got it from senior Rachael Bennett who posted a career-high and match-high 21 digs.
- Senior Inbal Peleg recorded 42 assists, a career-high five aces and three blocks in an impressive effort all over the court.
- Senior Zeynep Uzen recorded her third straight match with double figures in kills, leading AU with 19 and making it her first double-double of the season with 10 digs.
- Freshman Adelina Berisha and senior Onuchi Ndee tallied 10 kills apiece, with Ndee adding five blocks.
- Berisha was the hero to close out the match, getting three of her kills in the final three points to take AU from being down 25-24 to winning 27-25.
- Junior Katie Putney and graduate student Carlie Fikse posted six blocks apeice, and Fikse hit .300 for the match with eight kills.
- Strong serving once again came from Maya Mrus with three aces for a second straight match, to go along with 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Eagles were trailing 16-11 in the first set before mounting a strong comeback and eventually tying the score at 21-21 on a Fikse kill. That point started a 5-0 closing run that was capped with back-to-back Uzen kills for a 25-21 victory.
- AU's momentum carried into the start of the second set as the Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but it didn't hold. After ties throughout the middle of the set, GW pulled away after the final tie at 17-17 and went on to win 25-21.
- Finding themselves down yet again early in the third at 9-7, AU regained composure and cruised the rest of the way. With a 10-0 run that included brilliant plays by Uzen, Ndee, Fikse, Peleg and Putney, the Eagles took a 22-12 lead and then won 25-16.
- The final set was the most nail-biting of all with 13 ties and six lead changes, capped by an incredible finish for the Eagles.
- American led 24-21 before having three match points fought off by GW. The Colonials used a 4-0 run to get a match point of their own at 25-24, but then Berisha took over.
- With back-to-back-to-back kills, Berisha had the crowd on its feet and gave the Eagles the victory at 27-25.
- Goldberg was showered with confetti and balloons in an emotional celebration with his team, family and friends.
NEXT UP
- American will return to Bender Arena on Friday night, Sept. 2 to host UMBC at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available HERE.
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