Volleyball falls in Foggy Bottom
Miscommunications and poor hitting led the AU volleyball team to a 3-1 (14-30, 30-25, 20-30, and 29-31) loss to George Washington Saturday night at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center.
AU (22-9, 13-1 Patriot League) only shot for .097 for the match, committed 36 hitting errors and 13 service errors. GW (14-15) shot .222 for the match and only committed 23 errors
"Your not going to be successful if you keep making errors hitting the ball," coach Barry Goldberg said. "We had too many unforced errors tonight."
Freshman outside hitter Rubena Sukaj had 16 kills and freshman setter Christina Nash had 35 assists. At the other end of the court, senior defensive setter Jennifer Cosco had 19 digs for AU.
"There was a lack of intensity on our part," Goldberg said. "They gave us the ball and we would do something stupid like a service error or make a ball handling error. We had too many ball handling errors tonight. We only came out strong at the end of the fourth game."
After losing the third game, 30-20, AU found itself down 2-1 in the match and 24-14 in the fourth game. AU sparked a late rally, winning 11 of the next 12 points, and managed to hold off GW in two match-points to tie the game, 29-29. But the Eagles weren't able to force a fifth, losing, 31-29.
The Eagles now prepare to win a fifth-straight PL title. AU has won it all four years it has been in the league. They'll get to play at home in Bender Arena, where they haven't lost since August. The tournament kicks off Friday night against No. 4 seed Bucknell (17-13, 9-5).
-DAN JACOBSON
Women's hoops takes exhibition
The AU Women's Basketball team started the 2005 campaign with a flurry, as they beat MI Express 74-67, in an exhibition match-up Sunday at Bender Arena.
Junior guard Tara Williams led the Eagles with 22 points and a game-high five steals.ÿSenior point guard Tala Hadavi chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, while freshman Tish Curry scored 12 as well.
The game was tight throughout the first half, but coach Melissa McFerrin spurred the Eagles on in the locker room and they came out on fire in the second half, opening on a 20-7 run.
Shareese Grant scored 24 points to lead MI Express, and Nikki Curtis was dominant inside, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 boards for the exhibition team.
This year, the Eagles will rely heavily on their youth.ÿ Williams and Hadavi must bring some punch to the young squad.
Freshmen Curry and Pam Stanfield (nine points Sunday) will start, with Nicole Ryan (three assists) and Sahar Nusseibeh (11 rebounds) will also see significant playing time.
AU opens its regular season this Friday at 7:30 at Bender Arena against Towson. ÿThe Eagles play non-conference games until January 7th when they open their league season against Lehigh at Bender.
-JESSE EPSTEIN
Grapplers open season with dual split
The AU men's wrestling team split its first two meets of the season, losing to Drexel, 26-18, before defeating James Madison, 31-21, Sunday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Va.
The Eagles defeated James Madison despite not fielding wrestlers in the 125- and 141-pound weight classes. Freshman Jordan Lipp defeated the Dukes' Steve Biggin, 14-6, to give AU an early lead. Senior Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov dominated his opponent, winning, 16-1, and sophomore heavyweight Adam LoPiccolo clinched the victory with an 11-3 decision, his second individual win of the day.
AU's day started off on a poor note when an injury forced senior Matt Morkel to withdraw, creating a deficit that AU couldn't overcome. Abdurakhmanov' starred, winning a 19-2 decision over Drexel's Scott Hunter.
Overall, four AU wrestlers won both of their matches, including senior Tom Kniezewski and sophomore Josh Glenn.
-PATRICK AMBROSIO
