The AU women's volleyball team captured their eighth straight Patriot League title Saturday, defeating the Colgate University Red Raiders 3-1 in the championship match. The win also propels the team into the NCAA tournament for the eighth consecutive year.
"We knew we had our hands full with Colgate when we saw what they were able to do to Army last night," AU Head Coach Barry Goldberg told AUeagles.com. "They were able to take away our game plan and played great defense, forcing us into making tough shots. I give them a lot of credit, they have played very well to end the year."
The Eagles started out the match strong and never looked back.
The team took an early 7-1 lead in the first set on the strength of two kills and an ace by sophomore outside hitter Cassandra Ricketts.
Colgate came back to narrow the gap to 16-10, but the Eagles pulled away and took the first set by the score of 25-13.
The second set was tighter, as both teams fought for each point. Colgate stormed out to the 10-6 advantage before the Eagles clawed back to within two at 11-9.
AU took the set lead at 20-17 before holding on for a 25-19 set win and a 2-0 lead overall in the match.
The third set belonged to junior middle blocker Claire Recht, as she recorded four kills in the first 15 points to give the Eagles a 10-5 lead.
This would be short lived, however, as the Red Raiders came back to tie the set at 16 apiece before taking an 18-16 lead.
The two teams would trade points the rest of the way before Colgate held on for the set victory to cut the match lead to 2-1. It also marked the first time that Colgate had ever won a set versus AU in Bender Arena since the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2001.
The Eagles took an early 7-5 lead in the fourth set following a freshman outside hitter Rebecca Heath kill but the Red Raiders tied it back up at nine midway through the set.
Two kills by senior outside hitter Rubena Sukaj gave the Eagles a 12-9 lead, but Colgate climbed to within one point, 19-18, before another Sukaj kill closed out the set and the match.
Sukaj led the way with 29 kills overall in the match, while teammates Ricketts and Heath also recorded double-digit kills with 10 apiece. Nash had a game-high 53 assists while junior defensive setter Ivana Cebakova has 15 digs.
The Eagles will find out their opponent in the first round of the NCAA tournament during the selection show at 10 p.m. Saturday.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
