WASHINGTON – An efficient night for middle blockers
Elise Sterling and
Carly Sciborski led the American University volleyball team to its first sweep of the season, as the Eagles downed Howard 3-0 at home on Tuesday night. Sterling logged nine kills and Sciborski followed with eight, and both of them hit above .300.
Deniz Dakak also dished out 34 assists, and
Bella Marrero recorded 19 digs to round out a quality night on both sides of the ball for American.
Notable
- Sterling added two blocks to total 12 points, along with five digs. She's now hitting a team-best .302 on the year.
- Dakak neared a double-double with nine digs on the night, and she delivered two aces as well.
- Prinzez Zeck had seven kills and 2.5 blocks, bringing her Patriot League-leading total to 32.
- Salme Hollas also came up with seven kills while taking on a season-high 12 digs.
- Emma Blankenship came off the bench and recorded her first kill of the season.
- Howard hit just .059 in the contest, the second-lowest number AU has held an opponent to in the category this season.
Set 1
- The Eagles played one of their cleanest sets of the season in terms of efficiency, hitting .323 with 12 kills and just two errors. They never trailed, winning it 25-19.
- Sciborski, Sterling, and Zeck all notched three kills each to lead the way.
- AU broke through midway through the set. Ahead 13-12, the Eagles went on a 10-5 run to make the score 23-17. Zeck had two kills on the stretch, Sterling and Hollas both had one, and Dakak delivered an ace.
Set 2
- Howard responded with a hot start to the second set, taking a 7-2 lead that forced an AU timeout.
- Out of the break, American went on a 8-3 run to tie the score 10-10.
- The set stayed tight late, with the score knotted 20-20 before the Eagles won the final five points. After a Howard service error, Hollas came up with three straight kills, then Sterling and Sciborski combined for a block to win the frame 25-20.
Set 3
- The Bison continued to battle in the third set, but the Eagles again found their rhythm late to win it.
- Tied 16-16, AU defended well and forced three straight attacking errors from Howard to build a comfortable cushion in the back half of the set.
- Eventually leading 21-18, kills from Sydney Guerrier, Blankenship, and Zeck sealed the win.
Up Next
- The Eagles remain at home the rest of this week, facing off next with Villanova on Thursday, Sept. 10 in Bender Arena for the annual Bender Blue Out match. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
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