AU Volleyball Sweeps PL Weekly Awards

Nov. 5, 2007

WASHINGTON - For the second-consecutive week and the third time this season, the American University volleyball team has swept the Patriot League's weekly awards as Rubena Sukaj has been named the PL Baden Player of the Week and Cassandra Ricketts has earned the PL Baden Rookie of the Week, conference officials announced Monday.

Both Sukaj and Ricketts helped AU to a perfect 3-0 record last week including a five game win over Colgate which broke a tie between the two teams for first place in the PL. This is Sukaj's fourth weekly award from the conference this season while Ricketts' picks up the third weekly award of her career.

In Wednesday night's non-conference match with N.J.I.T., Sukaj led the Eagles with 13 kills on 33 attempts. Sukaj also aced the Highlanders four times and dug six balls. Friday night, against Bucknell, Sukaj played just one game but recorded five kills and one block. Against Colgate, the junior recorded her tenth double-double of the season when she scored 30 kills and 10 aces. This was Sukaj's fourth match this season with 30 or more kills and her 10 aces set a new single match career-high. Sukaj also finished the day with nine digs, narrowly missing a triple-double, a .328 hitting percentage and six blocks.

Against N.J.I.T. Ricketts hit for a .600 percentage with nine kills and zero errors. Ricketts also dug three balls in the match and blocked four. In Friday night's match with Bucknell the freshman played in two games, recording three kills, three digs, one block and a career high five aces. In Saturday's thriller with Colgate Ricketts tallied nine kills with just one error on 24 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage and dug six balls and blocked three.

Sukaj, Ricketts and the rest of the Eagles will be in action against tomorrow, Nov. 5, when they face off against Virginia Commonwealth at 7 p.m. The match is American's final at home this season and the team's three seniors, Chelsa Brooks, Tara Stradling and Logan Striebel will be honored in a pre-match Senior Night ceremony.