WASHINGTON - It was a battle the entire way, but American University volleyball had its unbeaten streak snapped by Maryland in a five-set thriller at Saturday's Bender Blue Out. The Terps (3-2) overcame a first-set loss while the Eagles (7-1) came back from a 2-1 deficit. The fifth set was tied at 12-12 but Maryland pulled out the 15-13 victory to hand AU its only loss so far this season.

Notable

• The Eagles' passing kept them in the match, and they finished with 63 digs to Maryland's 62 despite a 64-42 disadvantage in kills. 
• Senior Esma Sipahi and freshman Zedo Yilmaz posted 14 digs each, while senior Bridget Javitch had 12. 
• Blocking was another strength for AU with 12 as a team compared to six for the Terps. Senior Lilou Stegeman led the way with a season-high eight blocks.
• Junior Adelina Berisha was the only player to reach double figures in kills for AU, finishing with 14 while hitting .312. 
• Maryland's Samantha Schnitta had an impressive stat line with 21 kills, 10 digs, five aces, and five blocks.

How it Happened

• The opening set was the tightest of the five with 14 ties and eight lead changes. Maryland used a 7-2 run to take a 22-17 before the Eagles mounted a comeback, tying the score at 22-all and then 23-all.
• With an ace from Stegeman, the Eagles had set point for the first time at 24-23, but they would need three of them before back-to-back kills for Berisha and freshman Elise Sterling finally ended it 27-25 in favor of American.
• The Terps had 12 kills with zero errors in the second set while AU struggled and trailed nearly the whole way before losing 25-14.
• American surged ahead 16-10 in the third set and still led by five at 23-18, but Maryland closed with an impressive 7-0 run to take it 25-23 and go up 2-1 in the match.
• Down 9-5 in the fourth, the Eagles got a spark from Berisha who knocked down a kill and posted two blocks in a 5-0 run.
• The teams were tied for a 12th time in the fourth set at 19-19 before AU had a closing run of its own, going 6-1 the rest of the way with four kills from Berisha.
• In an intense fifth set with 10 ties and five lead changes, it was only a couple extra kills for the Terps that made the difference.
• AU fought off one match point before Maryland's Sydney Bryant earned the final point of the match with a kill as her team won 15-13.

Next Up

• The Eagles will play their fifth of five straight home matches on Tuesday, Sept. 10, hosting nearby rival Howard at 6 p.m.

Keep Up With Us

• For the latest on American University Volleyball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on X/Twitter (@AU_Volleyball), Facebook (/AU.Volleyball) and Instagram (@au_volleyball).