The volleyball team lost on Friday night to Duke University in the first round of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, bringing a long season of success to a close.
Rubena Sukaj continued her outstanding play with her 11th double-double of the season, scoring 22 kills and digging a team-high 13 balls. Christina Nash earned her fifth double-double of the season with 40 assists and 11 digs.
But the efforts of the Eagles weren't enough. Duke maintained pressure throughout the game, out-hitting AU .365 to .173. AU also committed 11 more errors than the Blue Devils.
AU's inability to stop Duke's aggressive scoring streaks in the first two games led to the early 0-2 deficit. Duke seized momentum by taking 10 out of 12 points midway through game one. The Blue Devils also went on a 5-1 run to close out game two.
The Eagles put forth their best efforts in game three when they led by five points at the midway mark. A Sukaj kill at the end of the match squashed another Duke comeback and gave AU a 30-28 win for game three.
The Eagles scrapped and clawed to keep their season alive in game four, trailing points late into play and pushing the game to a 29-29 deadlock. Only two plays later, Claire Recht made an emphatic kill, forcing both teams to play a deciding game five. AU hit a match-high .300 and scored 20 kills.
AU's triumphs in game four were quickly forgotten when the Blue Devils jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in game five. Down 13-4, the Eagles mustered up a small 4-0 rally, but it was not enough. Duke finished AU's season two points later.
Despite the loss, the volleyball team still considers the 2007 season a success. The Eagles were 26-8 for the season, including winning the Patriot League Tournament Championship.
"The turning point of the year was the loss to Army in the middle of the season," said sophomore Cynammon Burns. "We realized the Patriot League wasn't going to be handed to us."
After the Eagle loss to Army, the team won 11 straight matches and finished off the season with their best play of the season in the Patriot League Tournament.
"The attitude and determination we accomplished throughout the season translated into the match against Duke," Burns said. "Nobody gave up. We were a fighting team."
Last year, the Eagles pushed the University of Nebraska to play four games in the first round of the tournament, and this year they pushed Duke to play five in the first round.
