Volleyball players celebrate a point against Howard on September 10, 2024
Josh Markowitz
2
Howard HOW 4-3,0-0 MEAC
3
Winner American Americ 8-1,0-0 Patriot
Howard HOW
4-3,0-0 MEAC
2
Final
3
American Americ
8-1,0-0 Patriot
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Howard HOW 20 21 25 26 11 (2)
American Americ 25 25 23 24 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Volleyball Prevails in Five Sets Over Howard; Improves to 8-1 Overall

WASHINGTON - It took 174 swings, 79 digs and 61 kills, but the American University volleyball team prevailed in five sets over visiting Howard by scores of 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 24-26 and 15-11. It was the first win for the Eagles against the Bison since 2021, and improves AU's overall record to 8-1.

Notable
  • The numbers were high in a match that took over two and a half hours and saw the teams score a combined 215 points.
  • Leading the way for American with double-doubles were freshman Zedo Yilmaz (18 kills, 23 digs) and junior Adelina Berisha (15 kills, 18 digs). 
  • Senior Lilou Stegeman hit .364 while posting 12 kills on 22 attempts.
  • Senior Esma Sipahi added nine digs to 44 assists, and senior Bridget Javitch recorded 16 digs.
  • The Eagles got four service aces apiece from Yilmaz and freshman Bella Marrero.
How it Happened
  • Down 9-4 in the first set, AU called timeout and went on to tie it up 15-15.
  • Berisha came alive in the opening frame, knocking down seven kills with zero errors including the winner at 25-20.
  • The Eagles got a kill from Sterling to end the second set after hitting .258 to Howard's .179. With only two ties and one lead change, it was markedly different from the sets to come after.
  • The third set was a thriller with 13 ties and 10 lead changes. The Eagles went up 14-13 on a Yilmaz kill that started a 4-0 run, but the Bison later came back to tie it at 20-20.
  • Two more ties followed before Howard put away the final two points to stay in the match.
  • With another 15 ties, the fourth set was a nail-biter once again. The Eagles fought off two set points but a Howard kill and block finally ended it in extra points, 26-24 in favor of the Bison.
  • American used a 4-0 run to take an 11-6 lead in the fifth, but a 5-0 Howard run had the Bison right back in it with an 11-11 tie.
  • Yilmaz broke the run with her 18th kill of the match, and the Eagles got subsequent kills from Sipahi, Sofia Osterdahl and Stegeman to pull out the victory.


Next Up
  • The Eagles have wrapped up a five-match homestand and will now play their next seven matches away from home. First up is a three-match tournament at Campbell on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14, where AU will face host Campbell, Western Carolina, and North Carolina Central.
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