The AU Volleyball team extended their winning streak to 10-0 upon successfully competing at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Philadelphia.
AU beat Penn (1-4, 0-0, Ivy), Weber State (4-8, 0-0, Big Sky), and La Salle (1-8, 0-0, A-10) on Sept. 14 and 15, breaking the record for the best start in program history.
AU initially matched the best start record when it beat Penn on Saturday. Defeating Weber State and La Salle on Sunday made AU’s winning streak a record breaker.
The Eagles won every set they played during the tournament, most of them by large margins. They beat La Salle by 13 points in the first two sets and 12 in the final set. The same dominant form held true against Weber State as the Eagles won the final two sets by 12.
The closest match the Eagles played was during their game in the tournament against Penn. During the second set, the Eagles were ahead 24-23. After calling a timeout, the Eagles went on to win the set 25-23 following an error by Penn.
After being named the ECAC player of the week, junior middle blocker Kelly McCaddin continued her strong play. In the first and third match of the tournament, McCaddin led the Eagles in blocks with four and two respectively. She would also tie with senior outside hitter Juliana Crum for the team high kills against Penn.
In addition to her tie with McCaddin, Crum also led the Eagles in kills against Weber State. Crum managed 13 digs against Penn and then nine along with junior libero Megan Rosburg against Weber.
“We’re getting great contributions from so many different people that, this weekend in particular, any player we put on the court found some success against the competition here,” said Coach Barry Goldberg. “That’s why we’ve been finding so much success—because everyone’s been contributing to what we’re doing.”
The Eagles used their skillful offense to dominate the other teams by hitting an average of .383 in the three games they played.
The Eagles’ strong defense was also evident during the tournament holding their opposition to .083 hitting average.
“If our attack continues as it is and we can be a good team attacking, then it’s our job to hold the other teams down and stop their attack,” Goldberg said. “That means a good defense and, usually, if you have a good defense, you can win some championships.”
Even with all of their success, the Eagles are focused on improving their game. Their record-breaking start to the season does not deter them from making progress as a team.
“Our goal right now is just to play better volleyball,” Goldberg said. “I don’t think anybody is thoroughly overjoyed or satisfied enough to say that we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. There’s a lot of the season left, so there’s still a lot for us to do.”
The Eagles will have the opportunity to get their next victory when they head west to California to compete in the UC Irvine Invitational this coming weekend, Sept. 21 and 22 before returning to Bender for the first time in almost a month for a matchup against UMBC Sept. 25
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