he American University volleyball team (3-0) swept the Georgetown Hoyas (0-3) on Aug. 30 and defeated the George Washington Revolutionaries (0-3) in four sets on Aug. 31. These were the team’s first two home games of the new season, also featuring five new players after significant roster turnover in the offseason.
Over 1,300 students filled up Bender Arena to greet the Eagles for the first home game of the 2025-26 academic year, the team’s annual Bender Blue Out game. The fans proved a difference-maker for American, as the noise from the crowd disrupted serves and receptions for the Hoyas on multiple occasions.
The season began for the Eagles in a very similar fashion to how last season ended, with a thunderous kill over the middle from sophomore middle blocker Elise Sterling. Sterling, along with fellow sophomore Zedo Yilmaz, was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League team in August.
American took control early in the first set and didn’t let up, jumping out to an 8-3 lead. After a Georgetown timeout, the Eagles got back to work, scoring off efforts from new additions. Freshman outside hitter Sophie Dufour specifically showed out, notching four kills in a 10-point span. Following that run, American kept the Hoyas at an arm’s length, quickly answering any points that Georgetown mustered. They won the first set 25-18.
Five separate Eagles posted kills in the second set: Dufour, Sterling, junior opposite hitter Carly Sciborski, junior middle blocker Prinzez Zeck and sophomore outside hitter Salme Adeele Hollas. Despite American stumbling in the middle of the set, these hitting contributions pulled them back into the set, tying the score at 17. After that tie, the Eagles pulled away on an 8-2 run to end the set 25-19.
Up two sets, the crowd in Bender Arena thundered behind their team in the third set. Hollas rattled off three kills in the first 6 points of the set, and the Eagles played off their momentum. After breaking an 8-8 tie, the Eagles posted a 6-1 run to force a Georgetown timeout. That timeout fed into the energy in Bender Arena, and American had the jump on the Hoyas for the rest of the set. Hollas closed the match out with her 17th kill; her spike met with celebration from the congregation of Eagles fans in the stands.
“It’s a fresh start,” Sterling said after the game. “We’re a very young team, so even with a win here, we have a lot of room to grow.”
This was the first win for American in its Bender Blue Out game since defeating George Washington in four sets in 2022.
Sterling noted how the large crowd gave the team energy in the match, and her excitement for the upcoming home games.
“I miss being in Bender, I miss playing here and I’m ready to play at home again. It’s always fun,” she said.
The Revolutionaries traveled to Bender for the Eagles’ final match of the D.C. Challenge the next day, looking for their first win of the season after their most recent loss to the University of Virginia on Aug. 30.
American faced more resistance to its opening barrage from GW, who answered back with a sound offense of its own. Neither team held a lead larger than 3 points through the entire first set. After a 20-20 tie late in the set, the Eagles and Revolutionaries traded points back and forth, with no one able to establish any runs for a long time. The Eagles pulled out the set win in extra points, forcing two straight attack errors from GW to take the set 29-27.
After a long first set, American got off to a slow start in the second set — going down 5-1 before taking a timeout to collect itself. After that, the Eagles clawed their way back into the set, tying the score at 10 points. American and the Revolutionaries traded points from there, forcing another eight ties in the second set alone. GW’s hitters came alive at the end of the set, finding open space on the Eagles’ side of the court for 4 consecutive points. They took the second set 25-22, tying the match at one set each.
The Eagles found some fire in the third set, quickly jumping out to a 7-4 lead. Despite some fight showing from the Revolutionaries, American found ways to extend its lead, lengthening it to 9 points before a GW timeout. After that, the Eagles didn’t let up, closing out the set with a block from Zeck and Dufour. The final score of the set was 25-14, putting American up 2-1 for the match overall.
GW fought tooth and nail for every point in the fourth set, needing to win to stay alive in the match. The Revolutionaries hopped out to a 7-point lead early in the set before American clawed its way back in, with two kills from Hollas creating a momentum shift in the Eagles’ favor. After six consecutive late-set ties, the Eagles found one last push from their offense, and three more kills from Hollas to end the set with a 25-22 win for American, a 3-1 win of the match.
“This was our toughest challenge,” head coach Ahen Kim said after the game. “I wanted to know, win or lose, if we were going to compete. The thing I keep coming back to with this team right now is, they love playing defense, they’re going after everything. Against a physical team, that is them competing.”
Kim also praised his team for outblocking the Revolutionaries, something they failed to do against both George Mason on Aug. 29 and Georgetown on Aug. 30.
Hollas’s 39 kills led the team over its two home games, followed by Dufour’s 26. Sophomore setter Deniz Dakak posted 78 assists over the span, and sophomore libero Bella Marrero put up a team-leading 44 digs over the two games.
“My teammates have been so helpful and kind to me,” Hollas said after the GW game. “It’s still a different school, but they’ve introduced me to so many new things. Hopefully, I will play the same, and just try to keep up.”
The Eagles travel next to play the East Tennessee State Buccaneers and Cleveland State Vikings on Sept. 5. They return home on Sept. 13 to play the North Carolina A&T Aggies.
This article was edited by Matthias Jaylen Sandoval, Penelope Jennings and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Emma Brown and Ariana Kavoossi.
