The AU volleyball team defeated both the College of the Holy Cross and Army this weekend to improve to 12-0 in Patriot League play, extending their win streak to 19 games and clinching the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
Holy Cross
Magdalena Tekiel had 15 kills and Angelina Waterman added 14 as the Eagles defeated the Crusaders on Friday by scores of 25-17, 29-27 and 25-20. The victory increased AU’s streak of straight set victories to 11.
AU had no trouble taking the first set, as the Eagles raced out to leads of 16-6 and 21-10. Back-to-back kills by Waterman and Tekiel ended a set in which the Crusaders never led at 25-17.
In the second set, Holy Cross scored seven of the first eight points to jump out to a 7-1 lead. After the Eagles clawed back, a kill by Callie Black put Holy Cross ahead 20-17. The Crusaders had a chance to put AU away with a 25-24 lead, but two straight AU kills kept the Eagles alive. With the score knotted at 27 apiece, two consecutive Tekiel kills gave AU the 29-27 victory.
The third set was also competitive, with the score tied at 12-12, 16-16 and 18-18. But then the Eagles broke away, scoring seven of the next nine points for the 25-20 third set victory.
While Tekiel and Waterman spearheaded the offensive attack, Deborah Frantz, Katerina Cinkova and Bianca Richardson paced the defense. Frantz registered 12 digs, while Cinkova and Richardson both added four block assists.
Army
Tekiel had a game-high 21 kills while Cassandra Ricketts added 17 as AU defeated second-place Army on Saturday by scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 22-25 and 15-13 to clinch the Patriot League regular-season title.
After trailing 10-4 in the opening set, AU scored the next six points, with a Tekiel service ace knotting the game at 10 apiece. With the score later tied 23-23, AU would notch the next two points for the 25-23 victory.
The second set would have seven ties and three lead changes as the Black Knights tried to prevent a 2-0 deficit. With the game tied at 12, Army went on a key 5-0 run, as an ace from Kristina Keltner put the Black Knights ahead 17-12. Army would subsequently coast to a 25-18 victory.
AU responded to its first set loss in 11 games by controlling the third set. After jumping out to a 10-7 lead, the Eagles would not trail for the remainder of the set. After Army had pulled to within one at 14-13, the Black Knights would get no closer than two during the Eagles’ 25-20 win.
Facing defeat, Army responded with a fourth set victory. With the Black Knights trailing 17-16, one of Fabiola Castro’s team-high 20 kills spurred Army to the set victory. Margaux Jarka registered two kills down the stretch as the Black Knights forced a fifth set with the 25-22 victory.
The Eagles led 10-5 in the decisive fifth frame, but Army would continue to battle. The Black Knights would fight off three match points before eventually falling 15-13 to AU.
Krysta Cicala paced the AU offense all weekend, as her 61 assists against Army gave her 90 for the weekend. With Tekiel and Ricketts leading the offense Saturday, Frantz led the defense with 18 digs while Juliana Crum and Ricketts added 15.
Along with remaining undefeated in the Patriot League, the two wins improved AU’s overall record to 25-2.
The Eagles will conclude their regular season with matches at Lehigh University on Friday, Nov. 12 and at Lafayette College on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Patriot League Tournament starts Saturday, Nov. 20.
ttomea@theeagleonline.com
