WASHINGTON - In a grueling five-set battle, the American University volleyball team lost to Colgate on Friday night at Bender Arena. The Eagles went punch-for-punch with the four-time defending Patriot League Champions, as they lost two sets by just two points and three players reached double-digits in kills. 

Notable

• Prinzez Zeck had a quality night for the Eagles, with a career-high 14 kills and just four errors to hit .370. She added two block assists, bringing her team-leading number in blocks to 35. 
• Sophie Dufour led AU's attacking effort with her third double-double of the season, going for 18 kills, 20 digs, and 25 points.
• Elise Sterling followed with 10 kills, hitting .318 with two block assists. 
• Deniz Dakak dished out a career-high 50 assists, adding eight digs and two kills. 
• Bella Marrero had 26 digs to lead the Eagles on the defensive side of the ball, recording three assists and two aces in addition. 
• There were six challenges in the tightly-played match, two of which were successful for Ahen Kim and American. 

How it Happened 

• AU jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first set, led by three kills from Zeck. 
• While the Eagles stayed in front for the majority of the set, the Raiders clawed their way back and narrowed the score to 23-22. After a timeout by Kim, Carly Sciborski put down a kill and Colgate committed an error to seal the set for AU. Dufour and Hollas led the way with four kills apiece in the frame. 
• The visitors had a strong response in the second set, taking it 25-12. The Raiders never trailed, and were led by seven kills from Milan Bayless. 
• The third set nearly mirrored the first, but it was played even tighter. AU used an 8-2 run to grab a 19-15 lead, but Colgate wouldn't go away. Eventually trailing 23-20, the Raiders scored three straight points to tie the score 23-23. 
• After trading kills, the teams were tied at 24 apiece. Then, Hollas and Sterling came up with back-to-back kills to give AU the 26-24 win. 
• It looked like Colgate was going to cruise to a comfortable victory in the fourth set, but AU came up with an incredible comeback that fell just short. Trailing 23-17, the Eagles went on a 6-2 run to bring the deficit down to one at 24-23. Zeck had two kills on the run, and Dufour with one. 
• The American surge ended when an attack attempt from Zeck landed just wide of the sideline, giving Colgate the 25-23 win. 
• The two teams could hardly be separated in the deciding set, with neither squad taking more than a two-point lead. Tied 12-12, the stalemate finally broke when Colgate got kills from Bayless and Tiana Owens.
• The Raiders earned the final point on a block from Maddie Rudolph to win it 15-13. 

Up Next

• The Eagles will turn around to continue their Patriot League opening weekend against Army on Saturday at Bender Arena. First serve is set for 4 p.m.

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).