Senior setter Monica Smidova and senior outside hitter Kristyna Lindovska carried AU through the semifinal round of the Patriot League tournament. The Eagles eased past the Army Black Knights 25-19, 25-13, 25-14 Saturday in Bender Arena. With the victory, The Eagles advance to the championship game.
Smidova, recently named the Patriot League Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of 2014, had 30 assists to go along with five kills and six digs. Lindovska, who also earned conference distinctions as a member of the All-Patriot League second team, contributed nine kills and seven digs for the Eagles (25-6, 16-1 PL).
“The secret to that [strong performance] was a lot of individual practices before this game,” Smidova said, regarding Lindovska’s performance.
AU conceded the first point in the game but never trailed the Black Knights (14-16, 9-8PL) after their initial deficit, and they dominated the remainder of the game.
The Eagles took control when Lindovska recorded a kill to give AU the lead 3-2 before going on a five-point service run to stretch the lead to 8-2. While Army was able to close the lead to two at 16-14 after several Eagle hitting errors, AU put the set out of reach with kills from Lindovska and first-team all-Patriot League junior outside hitter Allison Cappellino.
“Lots of kills certainly were part of the game plan, we certainly needed to hit the ball well,” head coach Barry Goldberg said, regarding the offensive performance of his team. “We had a number of errors, but because we had so many kills we were able to get through the first set.”
In the second set, the Eagles raced out to a quick 10-2 lead behind the strong service games of Lindovska and Capellino. Army never drew closer than eight points, and the Eagles took the set comfortably.
Junior outside hitter Sarah Katz recorded three kills, four digs and a service ace in the third set alone, and Smidova added six assists and four digs. After a fairly even beginning, the Eagles pulled away to close out the Black Knights at the end of the second set.
“It was a defensive effort that started picking up as the match went on and that made a big difference in our offense as well,” Goldberg said.
Katz, named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team, finished with 10 kills and 10 digs, and senior outside hitter Kelly McCaddin, a first-team all-Patriot League selection, chipped in six kills for the Eagles.
The Eagles will face Lehigh University on Nov. 23 in their quest for a second Patriot League Championship and a bid to the NCAA. The Eagles will be looking to win their 12th Patriot League title in 14 years and return to the NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago.
“It’s a battle, we know that if you get to these finals it’s a battle,” Goldberg said. “So we’ll get some rest and come back tomorrow and hopefully have a good match.”
