The American University volleyball team (19-4) defeated the Lafayette Leopards (4-18) once and the Holy Cross Crusaders (8-21) twice in a three-game span. On Oct. 10 the Eagles swept Lafayette at home, on Oct. 12 they beat Holy Cross 3-1 at home and on Oct. 18 they swept the Crusaders at Holy Cross.
The team’s defense shone through all three matches, holding the two teams to an average 0.035 hitting percentage over the span.
American entered this stretch riding a five-match winning streak, most recently downing the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in three sets on the road. The Eagles held a 5-1 record in the Patriot League, having dropped a total of four sets in six matches: three in a five-set loss to Colgate and one in a four-set win against Army.
Lafayette came into Bender Arena on Oct. 10 hoping to knock off the Eagles, but instead were met with force from American. The Leopards failed to get anything going in the first set, while the Eagles notched 13 kills and scored points on 7 Lafayette errors. The away team scored only 9 points in the first set, dropping it 25-9.
The Leopards showed more resistance in the second and third sets, but the match still firmly favored American. Freshman outside hitter Sophie Dufour and sophomore outside hitter Salme Adeele Hollas both hit 11 kills in the match, and the team forced 21 total errors on Lafayette. American won the match in sweep fashion, 25-9, 25-12 and 25-14.
“We stayed with our systems,” Dufour said after the win over Lafayette. “They were running a lot of different plays, we were really aware of that and very on our assignments, and with that we were able to take care of business on our end.”
Two days later, the Eagles were back in action against Holy Cross. So far, the Crusaders’ season has been a rough one. They were last in the Patriot League standings and have only won a single conference game to this point at Lafayette on Oct. 11.
American breezed through the first two sets against Holy Cross, winning them 25-9 and 25-14, respectively. Seeing the team rolling into the third set, head coach Ahen Kim put in some of his bench players to give them playing time. Sophomore outside hitter Zedo Yilmaz notched 5 kills, her first front-line kills of the season, and sophomore opposite hitter Monyay Crowder got some attacks in.
Holy Cross’ defense adjusted well to this and won the set in extra points, 27-25. This was the first set the Eagles dropped since the team’s Sept. 20 match against Army. American, with starters back on the court, closed out the fourth set comfortably, 25-16.
Less than a week later, the Eagles found themselves playing Holy Cross again, this time at the Crusaders’ home court in Worcester, Massachusetts. With a week’s worth of preparation, Holy Cross gave American more trouble in the first set than it had gone through in the entirety of the previous weekend’s matchup.
At the end of the set, the Eagles found a 7-0 run to extend their lead and seal the victory. Two kills from Hollas and the team’s blocking prowess powered the run, bookended by a kill and a block from sophomore middle blocker Elise Sterling.
The other two sets at Holy Cross went by without much fanfare. American took them with relative ease to win the match, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-11.
Through this span, the Eagles shut down two high-ranking hitters in the Patriot League’s statistical standings, holding Lafayette’s Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo to a negative hitting percentage on the match and Holy Cross’s Emma Sorensen to 15 kills and 8 errors over two matches.
American’s win streak extended to eight victories with this stretch, a set record of 24-2 during the streak.
“We have to be vigilant, because if teams get complacent when they’re on a streak, then they make themselves vulnerable,” Dufour said.
Dufour’s 42 kills led the team in these three matches, followed by Hollas’ 34. Sophomore setter Deniz Dakak continued her career season, posting 97 assists over three matches, while sophomore libero Bella Marrero led the team with 39 digs.
“We’ve done a really good job through the first half, so one of the things you’ve got to do is be prepared to adjust when you’re at the top of your game. Otherwise, everyone just catches you,” Kim said after the Holy Cross match on Oct. 12.
The team now rides a 12-match winning streak and sits atop the Patriot League standings. American controls its own destiny moving forward, securing a home-court advantage for the playoffs if it wins its remaining three matches. The Eagles return home to face the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds on Nov. 7.
This article was edited by Matthias Jaylen Sandoval, Penelope Jennings and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Avery Grossman, Ava Stuzin, Ryan Sieve and Audrey Smith.
