The American University women's volleyball team finished a frustrating run at the Golden Bear Invitational in California this past weekend, falling to top-20 teams Cal and Pepperdine in their first two games and Colorado State in their last.
The Eagles started off the weekend on Friday with a strong campaign against No. 18 Pepperdine, dominating the Waves in both blocks and kills. American registered 11.5 blocks (compared with Pepperdine's 5), led by senior Elizabeth Maloney and junior Chelsa Brooks contributing with three individual blocks apiece.
The Eagles' service errors proved costly throughout the day, with six in their first match and five in their second, a key factor in the two losses. The lack of momentum from the first two matches likely contributed to the team's third loss, where they were beaten by a score of 30-17.
Saturday's games showed much of he same, starting with American's first match up with No. 13 Cal. Although they manages to outblock the Bears in all three sets, the Eagles couldn't keep up their attack against their much more athletic opponent.
AU went down without much of a fight, struggling on attack and finishing with a season-low .010 hitting percentage. The Eagles were swept by the Bears in all three matches, losing 30-19, 30-20 and 30-17.
The Eagles showed more heart in their final game on Saturday evening, forcing a five-game set against Colorado State. American's attack showed improvement from the start of the tournament, led by sophomore Rubena Sukai and junior Chelsa Brooks, who combined for 37 kills and seven blocks on the day. Julia Borecka and senior Elizabeth Maloney also contributed, with 11 kills each and five block assists combined.
After losing in he first game, the Eagles dominated in the second, winning 30-15. Hey came back from a loss in the third game and an early hole in the fourth to win 32-30 and force a fifth game, which they lost 15-10.
"I told the team, `Last year we played a similar tournament [at USD] where we lost to two top-20 teams and a five-game match to a non-tournament team,'" said head coach Barry Goldberg in an interview with AUEagles.com. "This year we lost to two-top 20 teams, but certainly played with them for most of the matches and we lost a five-game match to a team that's qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the last four years.' So we are taking steps in the right direction. Though the top-20 teams are still a step ahead, we are moving up and can contend with these top-40 teams."
American next plays at the Big Red Invitational in Ithaca this weekend, facing Binghamton, St. John's and Cornell.
