The AU women's volleyball team got the NCAA tournament rehearsal it wanted. It just couldn't get the win.
The Eagles dropped three in a row - including two sweeps to top 25 teams - at the San Diego Invitational last weekend.
AU (5-7) didn't win a game at the hands of No. 25 Long Beach State (7-3) on Friday and again against No. 18 San Diego (10-1) on Saturday.
But AU's best play came in the final match against Nevada - Las Vegas (4-7), which topped the Eagles in extra points in the decisive fifth game to win, 3-2 (30-28, 30-32, 30-23, 25-30, 18-16).
Picking up a match victory would have been nice for the Eagles, which are 1-6 in their last seven matches after back-to-back high-profile invitationals. But to coach Barry Goldberg, it's the experience that matters: AU will have to deal with such talent again if it cracks the NCAA tournament field.
"We know that these kind of experiences are going to be tough competition," he said in a statement. "In the long run we believe this will be the type of experience our team needs to be prepared for the upcoming conference and possibly NCAA opponents."
Saturday with UNLV holding match point, 14-11, AU served up three unanswered points to close in for the tie. The Rebels swatted another point to put the Eagles on the brink, but AU reversed the situation with two straight points to lead, 16-15.
After freshman outside hitter Rubena Sukaj's attempt at the match-winner was thwarted, UNLV unleashed a kill to draw even again. An untimely AU mistake then handed the Rebels victory as sophomore middle blocker Chelsa Brooks erred on an attack.
Sukaj led AU in kills that match with 21. Senior middle blocker Cutrina Biddulph added 19 kills on .389 hitting. The Eagles had a stronger attack with a 75-73 kills advantage, but UNLV was superior defensively in finding 73 digs.
Although AU played a competitive final match, earlier in the weekend it was out of its league at almost every turn.
The Eagles fought to a 9-6 lead in the third game against the Toreros Saturday but were then pushed back by yielding a 13-4 run. AU nipped at the host school's heels the rest of the game but ran out of time to spoil the sweep to fall, 3-0 (30-22, 30-15, 30-27).
The Bulldogs allowed even fewer openings for the Eagles Saturday as they cruised to a 3-0 win (30-13, 30-22, 30-18). AU had no answer to Long Beach's .418 hitting and managed a scant 20 digs. AU was also lost the blocking battle, 12-4, and hit a season-low .082.
AU's schedule now gets calmer. The Eagles make a short trip to Georgetown on Tuesday before Patriot League play opens at home against Bucknell on Friday.
