WASHINGTON - After trailing 2-1 heading into set four, the American University volleyball team powered past Northwestern in sets four and five to earn its first victory under head coach
Jenny Glenn and the first on Barry Goldberg Court.
Elise Sterling led the way for the Eagles with a career high 20 kills on a scorching .455 hitting percentage, while
Deniz Dakak dished out 52 assists to drive American's offense.
Notable
- Today's win marks AU's first over a Big Ten opponent since 2019 when the Eagles swept Rutgers at home, and the sixth overall in program history.
- Sterling's 20 kills is seven more than her previous career high, resulting in a team best 23.5 points for the match.
- Salme Hollas followed Sterling with 14 kills, while Carly Sciborski and Prinzez Zeck each added 12 each. The four of them also combined for 10 block assists.
- Bella Marrero was excellent defensively for AU, taking on 20 digs and committing just one reception error. Alex Ioannou added 10 digs of her own, along with four assists.
- Freshman Sam McMillan made her collegiate debut today, playing in all five sets and putting down five kills with two block assists.
Set 1
- Neither team led by more than two points in the first set until Northwestern bursted for a 7-1 that made the score 19-15.
- American managed to pull within one at 23-22 thanks to back-to-back kills by Sterling, but the visitors scored two in a row to take the match lead.
Set 2
- American bounced back in the second frame, using a 5-0 run early to grab a 7-3 lead. From that point on, the Eagles never trailed and took the set 25-21.
- Sterling began to catch fire in this set, leading AU with six kills. Zeck supported her with four.
Set 3
- With the score tied at 15-15, Northwestern outscored AU 10-5 to take the set and restore their match lead, logging 19 kills to American's 11 in the frame.
Set 4
- Trailing 12-11, the Eagles used a 6-1 run to give them a cushion late in the set. Sterling contributed a kill and an ace in the spurt, while Dakak delivered an ace as well after two Northwestern attacking errors.
- With the Eagles ahead 23-19, Sterling put down back-to-back kills to seal the set and send the match to a fifth.
Set 5
- AU took a 9-7 lead in the final frame before Northwestern scored four of the next five points to take an 11-10 edge.
- The Eagles then had their most important response of the day, finishing the set on a 5-1 run to win the set and the match. Hollas and Sterling provided a kill each, and Olivia Miller placed two service aces before a Northwestern service error ended the match.
Up Next:
- The Eagles round out their three-game weekend series on the road against Virginia tomorrow at 4 p.m. EST
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