Oct 11, 2008
AU Volleyball Outlasts NJIT in Five Sets
Oct. 11, 2008
WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team won its second-straight five-set match Saturday against New Jersey Institute of Technology, 3-2 (25-11, 22-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-11), at Bender Arena. The Eagles extended their winning streak to seven straight with the victory.
American (12-6) took the first set in dominating fashion. With the score tied at 2-2, the Eagles went on a 9-0 run to pull away, led by three Rubena Sukaj kills. AU led 13-6 following a Renata Pandolfo kill for NJIT, but the Eagles would respond with six straight points, punctuated by a Rebecca Heath kill to take an insurmountable 19-6 lead. AU would finish out the first set by a 25-11 margin and hit .419, while holding NJIT to -.071.
It was a tale of two stories in the second set, as the Highlanders were the side limiting the Eagles' offensive output. American led 9-4 after scoring four consecutive points, but NJIT countered with a streak of their own to cut the lead to 9-8 following an Eagle attacking error. The Highlanders tied the set up at 10 apiece on another Pandolfo kill and claimed a 12-10 lead. The set remained tight down the stretch, but ultimately the Eagles hitting struggles got the best of them, as the Highlanders took the second set, 25-22, holding American to a .150 hitting percentage.
It seemed the NJIT found some momentum coming out of the second set win, as the Highlanders stuck with the Eagles, trailing 6-5 in the third set. But American regained its composure, and went on a 7-3 run to open up a 13-8 advantage. The Eagles were up 14-9 following a Sukaj kill and put together another string of points and led 18-10 after a Highlander hitting error. AU would close out the set, 25-14, and hit .375, while holding NJIT to just four kills and a .000 hitting percentage in the set. NJIT (11-9) rebounded again from a poor set, and quickly took control in the fourth, taking a 7-2 lead. The Eagles would fight back to earn their first tie of the set at 18-18 on a Pandolfo hitting error, but couldn't claim the next point. AU would again tie the score at 21-all on a Heath kill and took its first and only lead of the set on the next point on an NJIT error. The Highlanders closed out the game on a 4-2 run to force a fifth set.
Like the match before, American jumped out to a quick lead in the fifth, going up 4-1 and forcing an NJIT timeout. The break sparked a pair of points for the Highlanders to pull them within 4-3, but the Eagles regrouped and pulled out to an 8-4 advantage after a Heath kill. NJIT would not give up, however, and pulled within one, 8-7, forcing an AU timeout. The Eagles came out of the huddle hitting, and went on a 4-1 run to lead 12-8, and held on down the stretch to claim the 15-11 win.
"This was another tough battle," said AU head coach Barry Goldberg following the win. "Though we struggled through moments, we remained in reasonable control throughout the match. Our defense had another terrific day and continues to be a big part of the success we've had. Our blocking was reasonably strong, but our back line needs to keep improving. We found a way through another tough opponent and we're looking forward to the upcoming week."
Heath led the Eagles with a double-double of the kill-dig variety (19 k, 15 d), as did Sukaj (19 k, 13 d). Sukaj led all hitters with a .366 attacking percentage. Claire Recht tallied seven block assists and Cassandra Ricketts and Katerina Cinkova each added six in the win. Christina Nash tallied 51 assists, while Cynammon Burns led the team in digs with 16.
American will return to non-conference action on Wednesday, Oct. 15, when they host Maryland Eastern Shore at 7 p.m. at Bender Arena.
