AU Volleyball Set to Host PL Tournament

Nov. 15, 2007

Patriot League Volleyball Championship Page.

WASHINGTON - The American University volleyball team will host the Patriot League Tournament for the seventh year in a row beginning tomorrow, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. inside Bender Arena. The Eagles enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and are looking to capture their seventh-consecutive PL Tournament Championship.

Scouting the Eagles:

American earned the tournament's top seed with a 13-1 conference record and an overall mark of 24-7. Head Coach Barry Goldberg's team is no stranger to postseason play and will look upon its experience to drive a successful tournament run.

"It looks like it will be an exciting weekend and we are looking forward to the challenges it will bring," Coach Goldberg said. "Hopefully our experience will help us. Our team certainly knows that we have three very competitive programs all vying for an NCAA Tournament appearance to compete with."

Rubena Sukaj is the leader of American's offense. The junior is a former PL Player of the Year and a two-time First Team All-PL selection. This season she leads the conference with 5.42 kills per game and 0.70 aces per game and is on pace to become the PL's all-time leader in kills.

Junior Christina Nash and senior Tara Stradling have split time at the setter position this year combining for the second highest assists per game average in the League. Nash is currently averaging 10.11 assists per game and has 63 total blocks while Stradling is averaging 4.87 assists per game and 1.59 digs per game.

Ameriacn's middle blocker combination of First Team All-PL selection Chelsa Brooks and Claire Recht have helped AU to the best blocks per game average in the conference and a new school record 445 block assists this season. Recht is tops in the PL with 123 total blocks and a 1.28 blocks per game average and has the second best hitting percentage in the conference at .340. Brooks ranks fifth with 0.92 blocks per game and has a .324 hitting percentage.

Getting the bulk of the playing time at libero this season has been Ivana Cebakova. Cebakova, an All-PL Second Team member this season, has a team-high 3.78 digs per game and is third in the conference. The sophomore has also recorded 115 kills for a per game average of 1.12.

Freshman Cassandra Ricketts earned three awards this season as the PL Baden Rookie of the Week. The right side hitter ranks sixth in the conference with a .301 hitting percentage, averages 2.17 kills per game and 0.70 blocks per game.

Scouting the Opposition:

Joining AU in the tournament are No. 2 Army (24-4, 12-2), No. 3 Colgate (16-12, 11-3) and No. 4 Navy (21-11, 8-6).

The Black Knights from West Point, N.Y., have appeared in nine straight PL Tournaments and have three championships to their credit. Under first year Head Coach Alma Kovaci, Army leads the League in kills per game (15.98), aces per game (2.53), assists per game (14.50) and opponent hitting percentage (.159). Three cadets, Jamie Clark, Rachel Breinling and Maureen Bannon, earned spots on the All-PL teams.

The Raiders of Colgate are appearing in the tournament for the first time since the 2000 season and have won four tournament championships in their history. Head Coach Ryan Baker has led Colgate to its first winning season since 1996 and the conference's second-highest digs per game average (15.97). Katrina Zawojski, Jackie Adlam and Casey Ritt were each named to the All-PL Teams.

Rubena Sukaj leads the conference with 5.42 kills per game

Navy is making its sixth appearance in the PL Tournament in 10 years. 12th year Head Coach Mike Schwob guided the Midshipmen to their fifth season of 20 or more wins since joining the conference and has the team ranked third in hitting percentage (.218) and kills per game (14.83). Rachel Dougherty was Navy's only All-PL selection this year with 4.53 kills per game.

Previewing the Matchups:

American and Navy will meet in the first semi-final match at 6 p.m. on Friday. The Eagles won both of their two previous meetings this season. At the U.S. Naval Academy, AU won a thrilling five game match led by 26 kills from Sukaj and 23 digs by Cebakova. American won in three games at home with Nash dishing out 32 assists and Brooks blocking five total attempts.

At 8 p.m. Army and Colgate will square off in the second semi-final match. The teams split their season series this year with each winning at home. In Hamilton, N.Y., Colgate took a 3-1 decision as Zawojski scored 25 kills and Meghan Fanta dished out 56 assists. In their second meeting, Army shutout the Raiders, 3-0, as a trio of cadets recorded double-digit kills.

The winners of each semi-final match will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. to crown the 2007 PL Tournament Champion. The tournament's winner will be automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships as the PL representative.

2007 Patriot League Volleyball Tournament Schedule

Friday, Nov. 16

6 p.m. - No. 1 American vs. No. 4 Navy

8 p.m. - No. 2 Army vs. No. 3 Colgate

Saturday, Nov. 17

7 p.m. - Winner 1/4 vs. Winner 2/3