The AU women's volleyball team routed Siena College 3-0 on Saturday, finishing off the Texas A&M Invitational in style.
The Eagles dominated the pace and pressure of the game, hitting a season high of .414, while the defense held Siena to a season low of .133 hitting percentage en route to a 25-16, 25-14, 25-21 victory.
AU came out hot in the first set, hitting on 12 of 29 attempts and committing just three errors. Senior outside hitter Rubena Sukaj continued her stellar play this season as she connected for five kills in 10 attempts, and sophomore outside hitter Katerina Cinkova had four kills in five attempts.
The Eagles clung to a 16-14 lead at the midway point of the first set but went on a 9-2 run to close out the set 25-16. It was the stifling play of AU's defense that held Siena to a first set .067 hitting percentage and contributed five total blocks as well.
Senior setter Christina Nash stole the show in the second set with a .636 hitting percentage, 14 kills on 22 attempts and zero attack errors. Nash finished the set with 11 assists. Sukaj again recorded five kills in the set, while freshman outside hitter Rebecca Heath scored five as well.
Once again it was the Eagles defense that solidified a second set victory. Siena was forced into six errors, as AU allowed only seven kills and held Siena to a hitting percentage of .042. With the score 8-8 in the second set, AU used a 5-1 run to open a 13-9 lead. The Eagles extended its lead as high as 11 points as the team cruised to 25-14 win.
Siena put up a fight in the third set, with the score 16-15 AU midway through the set. Junior middle back Claire Recht was able to give the Eagles the separation they needed with three blocks that put AU on a 6-2 run. AU ran away with the set and finished with a 25-21 victory.
AU finished the match with a season-high .414 hitting percentage and 42 kills. Nash totaled 30 assists, recorded five kills to go with two aces and five block assists.
Sukaj led the team with 15 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Heath notched 11 kills and five digs, while Cinkova hit a team best .700 with seven kills in 10 attempts and also scoring four aces.
The Eagles will be in action again next weekend as they travel to Boston, for the Harvard Invitational.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
