The AU volleyball team entered the weekend looking to take home its ninth straight Patriot League Championship and automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, but fell to the Army Academy in straight sets in the playoff game.
AU came into the weekend as the hottest team in the Patriot League as winners of eight straight and continued the hot play by sweeping the Colgate University Raiders in three sets 25-20, 25-17, 25-11.
Claire Recht led the way for the Eagles against Colgate on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball, with nine kills and seven blocks. AU had five players with five or more kills and came together for a .248 hitting percentage. Krysta Cicala dished out 28 assists on the match.
With the win, AU set up a rematch with No. 1 Army. The two teams split the season series with both teams winning on its home court.
Both squads opened up the first set by trading points back and forth. Army was able to break away though, with a 4-0 run after being tied at 8-8. After the short run, Army didn’t look back, winning 13 of the next 22 points to roll to the first set victory.
In the second set, Army jumped out to a much quicker start than the first set, winning four of the first five points. AU tried to claw back into the match, but Army was playing too well to allow for any type of comeback. Army, after allowing AU to get within one at 8-9, utilized a 12-3 run to pull away and extend the lead to ten. From there, the two teams traded points back and forth, allowing Army to capture the second set easily.
The third set began with both teams fighting back and forth. Army again was the first to pull away with a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. Unlike the first and second sets, AU fought back and didn’t let Army separate themselves.
Using a crucial 4-1 run of its own, AU was able to tie the match at 21-21. After splitting the next eight points, AU took its second lead of the match at 26-25 looking to extend the match to a fourth set. Army utilized its second timeout of the match to calm themselves down. Following the timeout, Army took the next three points to finish off the match and tournament.
Magdelena Tikel led the way for AU with 15 kills. Libero Cynammon Burns lead the defense efforts with 22 digs over the three sets and Cicala added 27 assists to the AU effort.
Although AU is through with the Patriot League Tournament, has one game remaining on the schedule. They travel to New York to take on The State University of New York at Albany next week.
Though the team will lose three seniors, they return 10 players, including leading outside hitter Rebecca Heath, who went down with a torn ACL halfway through the year.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
