AU Volleyball Continues PL Play at Home This Weekend

Oct. 2, 2008

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team will host both Lafayette and Lehigh this weekend in Bender Arena as the Eagles continue their three-week homestand. AU opened Patriot League play last weekend at home with a pair of 3-0 wins over Colgate and Bucknell and will look to improve upon its combined 28-2 record against the Leopards and Mountain Hawks.

Upcoming Schedule

Last Time Out

The Eagles opened Patriot League play last weekend with straight-set victories over Colgate and Bucknell. On Friday, AU defeated the Raiders 25-14, 25-19, 25-14 in a rematch of last year's PL Championship Match. Senior setter Christina Nash dished out 31 assists in the match while guiding the team to an overall hitting percentage of .370. Defensively, junior Ivana Cebakova paced the Eagles with nine digs as American held Colgate to a .080 hitting percentage.

On Saturday against Bucknell, AU won again in straight sets 25-21, 25-15, 25-9. American finished the match with a season-high .434 hitting percentage led by senior Rubena Sukaj who hit a career-high .706 for the match with 12 kills on 17 attempts and zero errors. Freshman Rebecca Heath added 10 kills on 16 attempts with one error for a .562 hitting percentage.

Eagles News & Notes

• The Eagles have won three straight matches and hold a record of 8-6, 2-0 PL, heading into the weekend. Each of AU's last seven wins have come in straight sets, 3-0.

•  Senior outside hitter Rubena Sukaj became the PL's all-time leader in kills on Sept. 12, scoring 14 kills against Harvard. The following day Sukaj became the conference's all-time leader in aces when she recorded two against Dartmouth. Sukaj now has 1,822 career kills, 267 career aces and also holds the American University record for each.

• Senior setter Christina Nash has moved into the seventh spot on the PL's all-time assists list and is still moving up. Nash has recorded 3,275 career assists and is 92 assists shy of tying Navy's Jessica Van Norman for sixth. Nash is currently third on AU's all-time list.

•  Junior libero Ivana Cebakova has tallied 1,023 career digs and is second all-time at AU. Cebakova also entered the season as the school's career leader in digs per set at 3.78 and is currently averaging 3.69 dps.

• Sukaj and freshman Rebecca Heath have each been honored by the PL as the Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, three times this season. Sukaj was first named Player of the Week on Sept. 2 after being named to the D.C. Volleyball Challenge All-Tournament Team and averaging 4.83 kps and 3.08 dps over the season's opening weekend. The senior earned her second weekly award on Sept. 15 after breaking the PL career kills and aces records at the Harvard Invitational. Her final weekly award came this last week, Sept. 29, after averaging 3.44 kps and 1.43 dps in a 3-0 week for the Eagles. Heath has been named the PL Rookie of the Week each of the last three weeks. The freshman's first conference honor came on Sept. 15 following a 2.18 kps and 1.45 dps performance at the Harvard Invitational. On Sept. 22, Heath garnered her second award and was also named to the Marquette Cheese Bowl All-Tournament Team for her 3.22 kps and 1.78 dps performance over the weekend. Last week, Heath earned her third-consecutive Rookie of the Week accolade as she helped AU to a 3-0 record and averaged 3.22 kps and 1.00 dps.

• The Eagles currently rank first in the PL with a 2.18 bps average and are second in hitting percentage, .262, kills per set, 12.87, and aces, 2.06. Individually, Sukaj leads the conference with 4.21 kps and is second in aces with 0.56 aps. Junior Claire Recht leads the PL with 1.04 bps and is third with a .340 hitting percentage. Nash ranks second with 9.75 aps and Cebakova is third with 3.69 dps.</ul>

Scouting the Opponents

Lafayette (6-9, 1-1): The Leopards are coming off a 1-1 opening weekend in PL play. Lafayette lost to Army, 3-0, on Friday in their conference opener but rebounded on Saturday to take a 3-1 win over Holy Cross. Sophomore Kayly Elmer leads Lafayette's offensive attack with 3.47 kps and is second on the team with 12 aces. Junior Kari Horn holds a 3.52 dps average to anchor the Leopards defense and is complimented by junior Megan Carter's 1.77 dps. Lafayette is coached by Terri Dadio Campbell in her seventh year.

The Eagles hold a 14-1 all-time record against Lafayette, including 14 straight victories, and earned two 3-0 wins last year.

Lehigh (5-9, 1-1): The Mountain Hawks split decisions with Holy Cross and Army in the opening weekend of conference play, taking a 3-1 win over the Crusaders and falling to the Black Knights by the same score. Lehigh is led offensively by Angelika Kopacs who is averaging 3.36 kps and Jessica Kudirka who is dishing out 5.78 aps. Defensively, Emma Melendez ranks first in the conference with 4.09 dps. Jenny Mauer is in her second season as head coach of the Mountain Hawks.

The Eagles hold a 14-1 all-time record against Lehigh, including 14 straight victories, and earned two 3-0 wins last year.