Oct 15, 2008
AU Volleyball Extends Winning Streak to Eight, Beats UMES 3-0
Oct. 15, 2008
WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team extended its winning streak to eight matches on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Senior Rubena Sukaj scored a match-high 16 kills in the win while freshman Rebecca Heath added 13.
American's (13-6, 5-0) eighth win in a row came by set scores of 26-24, 25-20, 25-16. The first set proved to be a back and forth nail bitter as the two teams traded the lead 10 times and were tied 15. With the score tied at 13, AU finally looked to be pulling away as the Eagles opened a three-point lead, 16-13, as Cassandra Ricketts and Claire Recht teamed up for a block. A timeout called by UMES however deadened AU's momentum and the Hawks were able to retie the set at 18 a piece. Tied again at 24, Heath took the lead for American with a kill, 25-24. On the very next play the Eagles went to Sukaj who scored her seventh kill of the frame to take set point, 26-24.
Set two began in similar fashion to set one as the teams traded side outs before UMES took a two-point lead, 10-8. The Eagles charged right back however and quickly tied the set at 10 on a Sukaj kill. With the score still tied at 15, AU finally broke through using its defense as four straight errors by the Hawks put the score in favor of American, 19-15. UMES pulled back to within two quickly, 19-17, but would get no closer as Heath scored four kills down the stretch to help AU to set point, 25-20.
It was all AU in the third set as the Eagles opened the frame with a 7-0 run punctuated by six-consecutive kills. After a UMES timeout, the Hawks attempted to climb back into the match but could not get closer than five points, 19-14. Consecutive blocks by American were followed by consecutive kills from Sukaj as AU's lead moved to nine, 23-14, before earning match point by the same margin, 25-16.
Sukaj led all scorers in the match with her 16 kills and finished the match with a .393 hitting percentage. Heath was a close second in the scoring race as she notched 13 kills, two aces and hit .312. Senior Christina Nash dished out 34 assists in the victory and guided the Eagles to a combined .287 hitting percentage.
On the defensive side of the net, junior Ivana Cebakova led the charge with 17 digs as AU held the Hawks to a combined .081 hitting percentage, marking the fourth time this season American has held its opponent below .100. The Eagles also combined for seven total blocks. Recht recorded one solo block and three block assists and Ricketts chipped in four block assists.
American will take to the road this weekend for the first time in a month as it travels to Bucknell on Friday, Oct. 17, for a 7 p.m. match. The following day, Saturday, Oct. 18, the Eagles will continue to head north and play against Colgate at 4 p.m. Live video of Friday's match will be available to subscribers of Eagle Vision All*Access by clicking here. Fans can also watch live stats during Friday's match by clicking here.
