American University

EASTON, Pa. – Driven by 41 assists from Deniz Dakak, Elise Sterling and Sophie Dufour each recorded 14 kills to lead the American University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Lafayette on Saturday night. The Eagles move to 12-1 in Patriot League play with the win, remaining on top of the conference. 

Notable 

• The middle blocker Sterling hit .400, adding a team-leading six blocks for an excellent all-around performance. Tonight marks the sixth time she's swung at a .400 clip or better. 
• Dufour hit .294 from the outside while logging five digs and three assists. 
• Dakak took on 10 digs to collect her 12^th double-double on the year. 
• Senior outside hitter Salme Hollas nearly added a double-double of her own, racking up 13 kills and nine digs. 
• Junior libero Bella Marrero had a quality night defensively, wearing 19 digs to top AU in the category. Zedo Yilmaz also pitched in on that side of the ball, contributing a season-high 11 digs. 

How it Happened

Set 1: American 25, Lafayette 21

• AU fell behind 6-1 but weathered the early storm to narrow the deficit to 15-13 at the media timeout, using back-to-back kills from Guerrier and Hollas just before the break.
• Out of the timeout, the Eagles went on a 12-6 run to take the set. Dufour caught fire on the spurt, putting down five of her eight total kills in the frame to push her team to a strong finish. 
• Sterling and Hollas each followed Dufour with three kills, and Guerrier had two. 
• American held the Leopards to just nine kills and a .125 hitting percentage. 

Set 2: American 25, Lafayette 17

• The Eagles again fell behind in the front half of the set, trailing 16-9 midway through after a 7-1 run from Lafayette. 
• Much like the first stanza, AU found its groove during the back half, uncorking a 15-1 run to get a resounding win.
• Sterling had six kills on the burst, along with two for Hollas and Guerrier. Miller helped AU seal the win, serving for seven straight points that included three aces. 
• American ended the set with a .406 hitting percentage after the slow start. 

Set 3: Lafayette 25, American 22

• Lafayette battled to win the third set, an effort led by Justine Puig. The freshman outside hitter had seven kills in the frame, while Paige Chmura had four. 
• The Leopards ?held the Eagles to just 11 kills on a .119 hitting percentage, their worst set of the match.
• The score was tied late at 20-20, and Paige and Noah Kamphuis came up with a block for the home side. Then, Paige, Puig, and Jada Aksu put down kills around an AU attack error to win the set. 

Set 4: American 25, Lafayette 17

• American controlled the majority of the fourth set to close out the match. The Eagles led 15-12 at the media timeout after a strong start was finished off by kills from Dufour and Prinzez Zeck. 
• They reached their largest lead of the match at 22-14 following a 7-2 run, highlighted by three Hollas kills. Dakak then found the floor for a kill, Sterling delivered an ace, and Zeck eventually shut the door with her eighth kill of the match. 

Up Next

• AU will stay on the road but be much closer to home next week, facing off against Loyola Maryland on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and Navy on Friday, Nov. 6. Both matches are set to start 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 Twitter (@AU_Volleyball), Facebook (/AU.Volleyball) and Instagram (@au_volleyball).