The AU Eagles women's volleyball team lost its sixth straight match on Saturday, falling to the University of North Carolina 3-2 during the UNC Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. The loss was the Eagles' third in the past two days, following a pair of 3-1 losses to Villanova earlier that day and Western Kentucky on Friday afternoon.
During the match against the Tar Heels, AU fell behind early, dropping the first two games and finding their backs against the wall down 2-0. Unwilling to give up so easily, the Eagles rallied during the next two games, scratching out a 35-33 win in game three before comfortably taking the fourth game 30-24.
The Tar Heels would recover in the fifth game, ending the Eagles' comeback by taking the deciding game 15-12 and the overall match at three games to two. Junior Rubena Sukaj earned a career-high 31 kills in the loss and was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.
In the earlier match on Saturday, the Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead before losing the final three games and the match to Villanova, 3-1. Sukaj once again led the way for AU by hitting at a .327 clip and recording a team-high 22 kills. Teammate Christina Nash collected 35 assists while freshman Cassandra Ricketts had nine kills and three blocks in the losing effort to the Wildcats.
Friday's match was no better for the Eagles as the team fell to Western Kentucky by the same 3-1 score. AU dropped the first two games of the match 30-26 and 30-23 respectively before picking up a win in game three, 30-28, to take the match score to 2-1 in favor of the Big Red. However, the Eagles would be unable to capitalize on this momentum, losing the fourth and final game 32-30. The telling statistic in this match was hitting percentage, as the Eagles hit over .400 in its one win but under .200 in its three game losses.
While the Eagles still lack a win on the road this season, having lost six straight, the team has won four in a row at home, a trend it looks to continue on Friday against Columbia in the opening match of the American Volleyball Tournament. The match tips off at 1:30 p.m. at Bender Arena.
