American University’s volleyball team (15-14, 7-9 PL) took down the Lafayette College Leopards (8-11, 5-11 PL) on Nov. 11 in Bender Arena.
The match opened strong for AU, with freshman Adelina Berisha starting the Eagles off with a kill. American took off with a 5-point opening run against Lafayette, but the Leopards kept up with a 4-point run of their own.
AU matched Lafayette and went on another 4-point run, pushing Lafayette to a timeout. The Eagles kept the rest of the set under their control and prevented the Leopards from catching up.
American cemented their 25-18 set win with an explosive double block from junior Katie Putney and graduate student Carlie Fikse. The Eagles out-hit Lafayette in the first set .278 to .029.
The second set started with the Leopards trailing the Eagles. Lafayette kept within striking distance of AU’s narrow lead until the Eagles went on an 8-point run. Senior Morgan Johnson recorded three service aces, dashing the Leopards’ hopes of coming back.
The set was closed out by two service aces from senior Inbal Peleg, and the Eagles took the second set 25-12. AU hit one of their best sets of the season, hitting .476 with 11 kills.
Lafayette came back with a vengeance in the third set, turning around the momentum and taking an early 4-point lead. The Eagles fought back, with the set remaining competitive until the Leopards buried the Eagles with two late runs to seal the deal.
The fourth set was dominated by the Eagles, who grew an early 7-point lead. AU was able to prevent any attempts the Leopards made at coming back and kept their significant lead to finish the set 25-14 and the match 3-1. Senior Zeynep Uzen led AU with 10 kills in the set, tallying a season-high 29 kills for the match.
“Our goal was keeping the momentum, which I think we achieved pretty well this game,” Uzen said.
American ended their season in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals 1-3 against the Navy Midshipmen.
dhoke@theeagleonline.com
