The American University volleyball team made its return to Bender Arena last Saturday at their home opener against George Mason University. Following a clean sweep of Georgetown on Friday, the Eagles were looking to continue their momentum to take down the Patriots after losing to them last year 1-3.
The first set was neck and neck. The Patriots chased the Eagles’ lead, tying the game six times. However, senior Zeynep Uzen wouldn’t let George Mason catch up. Uzen took over at 20-20 with three kills including the winning point to secure a first set victory for the Eagles at 25-22.
The second set continued the tight competition between the Eagles and Patriots until a solo block and kill from graduate student Carlie Fikse allowed American to gain a nine point lead. With kill number five from Fikse the Eagles were at set point. A powerful block from Onuchi Ndee and Esma Sipahi gave American a second set win at 25-18.
The Patriots came back hard in the third set, going on an 11-3 run. The Eagles rallied and slowly chipped away at the lead, catching George Mason at 17-17. Adelina Berisha shined in the third set contributing five kills for American.
The Eagles took the lead to 24-19, before George Mason shortenedthe lead to 24-22. A challenged kill from Uzen was overturned and ended George Mason’s comeback 25-22.
Uzen led the team with 13 kills and seven digs while Berisha added nine kills and three blocks. The Eagles recorded 10 blocks with six coming from Fikse. Bridget Javitch contributed a career-high 10 digs and Maya Mrus served three aces with zero errors. Inbal Peleg had eight digs and a match-high 29 assists.
The Eagles look to maintain their undefeated record next Wednesday against the University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers at Bender arena .
