The American University volleyball team (19-4) defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (10-12) in five sets at home on Oct. 24, before sweeping the Bucknell Bison (9-13) on Oct. 25.
American entered the Lehigh match on a roll, winning eight straight matches and posting sweeps in six of those contests. The team’s two most recent wins came against Holy Cross, defeating the Crusaders in four sets at home on Oct. 12, and in a sweep on Oct. 18 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Mountain Hawks entered on a low note, dropping a five-set match at Colgate on Oct. 18.
Lehigh came out fierce in the first set, hopping out to a 7-4 lead and securing the advantage as the set wore on. The Eagles found their first lead of the match late in the first set, going up 23-22 before a quick response from Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks put the set away in extra points, winning 27-25.
This was only American’s third dropped set since the team’s Sept. 19 loss to Colgate. The Eagles won the other two games where it dropped a set in four, but this match against Lehigh would buck the trend.
The second and third sets were close, with the Mountain Hawks finding an answer to American’s offense at almost every turn.
Junior middle blocker Prinzez Zeck found success in these two sets, contributing 7 kills. The Eagles’ outside hitters also got in on the fun, with freshman Sophie Dufour and sophomore Salme Adeele Hollas both notching 5 kills each in the span. American won the sets 25-22 and 25-23, respectively.
Lehigh’s adjustments proved to be too much for American in the fourth set, and Lehigh senior outside hitter Natalie Luscomb feasted on the Eagles’ defense. Her 6 kills, matched by another 6 from Lehigh freshman outside hitter Mary Massias, propelled Lehigh to a 25-22 set victory and forced a decisive fifth set.
The Eagles had not faced a fifth-set situation since its loss to Colgate. The team faced two fifth sets against Lehigh last season and lost both in successive matches.
Sophomore middle blocker Elise Sterling stepped up for the team in the fifth set, notching 3 kills to lead the team for the set and tripling Zeck, Dufour and Hollas’ production. American took advantage of mistakes from Lehigh to take the fifth set with relative ease, winning it 15-9 and the match 3-2.
“I’m glad we stuck it out and won, especially after dropping the first set,” Sterling said. “Hopefully, we can keep going, and start up where we ended off.”
The Eagles were back in action the next day against the Bucknell Bison, a team coming off of a five-set loss at Loyola Maryland the previous evening. With both teams fatigued, this match proved to be interesting for American.
The Bisons still boasted a lot of talent from last season’s league-leading team, namely middle blocker Sidney Shaffer and setter Caleigh O’Connell.
Despite that talent, American’s offense was too much for the Bison’s usually stout defensive front. The Eagles out-blocked Bucknell six-to-four on the match, and dominated from the service line, scoring 13 points off of aces to Bucknell’s 1.
American exerted its will on the Bison in the first set, going up 9-4 early on and lengthening the lead with a mix of kills, aces and forced errors. The Eagles put up five of their 13 aces in the first set of the match and won with an ace from Dufour, 25-17.
In the second set, American clamped down on Bucknell’s hitters, stifling the Bison’s offense on any chance the team could find. The Eagles’ offense and service kept churning out points, totaling 8 points off of kills in the set and another 5 on service aces and Bucknell errors.
Freshman libero Alex Ioannou put up an ace in this set and 2 more in the third set. This brings her season total to 49, ranked fifth in the NCAA in total service aces.
“It’s about helping my team, that’s all I really care about,” Ioannou said.
Bucknell outside hitter Bri Frazilus found room to work in the third set, letting the Bison make the score closer than the previous two. However, with no other hitters performing well, American’s offense was able to dominate.
Dufour’s 12th kill of the game closed out the set with a 25-18 score and secured a 3-0 sweep for the Eagles.
“This team continues to impress me with their attention to the scout, it was as good of a response as you could ask for,” head coach Ahen Kim said.
Dufour, sophomore setter Deniz Dakak and sophomore libero Bella Marrero led the team in kills, assists and digs with 30, 90 and 29 over both matches, respectively.
This was American’s fifth slate of weekend matches in which the team went undefeated. 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, Audrey Smith, Ava Stuzin and Ryan Sieve.
