WASHINGTON - After a quarterfinal sweep earlier this week, the American University volleyball team now heads to host Colgate for the rest of the Patriot League Championships. The third-seeded Eagles (19-10) will face second-seeded Army West Point (14-11) in a 3 p.m. semifinal on Friday, Nov. 17. The winner advances to the championship match, set for Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.
Quick Info
- Event: Patriot League Championships
- Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 17 vs. Army (3 p.m.)
- Site: Hamilton, N.Y. (Cotterell Court)
- Ticket Info: AUEagles.com/Tickets
- TV: ESPN+
AU's Patriot League Tournament History
- Until last season, American had never missed out on advancing to the PL Tournament semifinals since joining the league in 2001.
- The PL Tournament expanded to six teams in 2019, and the 2021 season marked AU's first appearance in one of the quarterfinal matches. The Eagles won that match in 2021 against Loyola Maryland and ultimately advanced to the championship.
- Last season, the Eagles were on the road for a quarterfinal at Navy and lost in four sets.
- The Eagles won 16 of 19 PL titles through the 2019 season. After a PL semifinal loss to Colgate in the shortened 2020-21 season, American did appear back in the championship match in 2021 but once again lost to Colgate, 3-1.
Inside the Series
- The all-time series between AU and Army has the Eagles leading 44-12, but the Black Knights won both meetings in 2022 and both regular season meetings this season.
- The Black Knights earned a 3-1 decision on Sept. 23 in West Point, and came back from a two-set deficit to beat the Eagles in five sets on Nov. 4 in D.C.
What to Know About American
- The Eagles have won eight of their last nine matches including a six-match win streak near the end of the regular season.
- American had its six-match win streak snapped on Nov. 4 by Army West Point in a tough, five-set loss after taking the early 2-0 lead. On Senior Day, Nov. 11, the Eagles rebounded and rolled to a 3-0 win over Bucknell who had been one game up on AU in the PL standings.
- AU had little trouble with Loyola Maryland in its Patriot League quarterfinal, winning 25-17, 25-20 and 25-20 behind 10 kills from Zeynep Uzen and eight from Holly Hopkins.
- During the win streak, the Eagles beat three teams that had gotten the best of them in the first half of Patriot League play—Loyola Maryland, Colgate and Navy.
- Leading the way this year is 2023 Patriot League Player of the Year Zeynep Uzen, whose 4.01 kills per set lead the team, lead the PL, and rank 38th in NCAA Division I. Uzen, who is now a four-time All-PL First Team honoree, has totaled 20 or more kills in five matches, including a season-high 25 against Georgetown and 21 against Colgate.
- Uzen has 1,697 career kills, recently moving into third all-time in program history. In AU's Oct. 21 match against Navy, she hit the 1,000-dig milestone and is now the fourth player in program history to surpass both the 1,000-kill and 1,000-dig marks.
- Esma Siphai, the 2023 PL Setter of the Year and an All-PL First Team selection, leads the PL with 10.11 assists per set and ranks fifth in the PL with 0.36 service aces per set. For a second year in a row, graduate student Carlie Fikse is among the league leaders in both hitting percentage and blocking. She is third in hitting at .337, and eighth with 0.97 blocks per set. Fikse had a career-high 11 blocks in the win over Colgate, and has now earned All-PL Second Team honors for the second time.
- American is under the direction of first-year head coach Ahen Kim, who was on the bench as an assistant coach for the Eagles from 2012-17 under Barry Goldberg.
- The Eagles are wearing jersey patches all season long commemorating their former coach. Goldberg, who amassed an incredible 812 wins at AU, passed away of cancer in March.
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 $9.99/month or $99.99/year.
Keep Up With Us
