The AU volleyball team bounced back from its Oct. 15 straight-set loss at Lehigh University to defeat the Howard University Bison in straight sets Oct. 19 at Bender Arena by set scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 26-24.
“We’re a little apprehensive still, because of what we just went through on the road, so it was good to get back home and find a way to get through the match and the win,” AU Head Coach Barry Goldberg said.
Coming off its first Patriot League regular season loss since October 2009, the Eagles (14-10, 6-1 PL) wasted no time in setting the tone against Howard courtesy of its .464 hitting percentage and 16 kills in the first set.
The Eagles backed up that performance with almost identical stats in the second frame thanks to the combined attack of Juliana Crum and freshman Kelly McCaddin, as the duo totaled 16 of the team’s 32 kills after two sets.
The Bison (4-18, 3-2 MEAC) came out of the intermission looking like a completely different team than the one that took the court for the previous sets. Tosin Elebute led the Bison as they exchanged ties and leads with the Eagles throughout the third set.
Howard held an 18-17 advantage late in the third stanza and was serving to extend its lead, but AU’s Megan Rosburg and Alexandra Hammer both made scrambling digs to keep the ball alive, which resulted in a McCaddin block when Howard tried to resume the rally.
The Eagles then went on a 3-0 run before Crum delivered the final knockout punch to win the match in straight sets for the Eagles.
“Second game was a little rough,” outside hitter Sara Rishell said. “We kind of played into their rushed way of playing, and [in the] third game as well, but we were able to keep it together and come out with a win.
Crum finished the match with a team-high 14 kills, while McCaddin and Rishell each posted 10. The Eagles committed only nine errors and held a 48-32 advantage in kills.
“I think at the beginning [of the year] we were a little bit unsure how it was going to turn out having so many new people on the team, but they’re really stepping it up; there’s a lot of competition going on,” Crum said. “It’s cool to have new faces on the team because it brings a new sort of atmosphere and everyone works well together.”
The Eagles will resume the second half of Patriot League play with a pair of road matches this weekend against Colgate University Oct. 21 and Bucknell University Oct. 22, before returning to Bender Arena for five straight games to close the regular season.
“Big weekend coming up here, we’ve got a whole new team here and everybody’s learning together,” Goldberg said. “We’re excited to take on the opportunity, it’s what we do.”
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