The AU volleyball team hosted two Patriot League matchups this weekend, claiming the Patriot League regular season title with a win over Lehigh University Nov. 11, followed by a Senior Day victory over Lafayette College Nov. 12.
AU avenges earlier loss to Lehigh The Eagles (21-10, 13-1 PL) came ready to play against Lehigh (19-9, 10-4 PL), the only Patriot League team to defeat the Eagles this season.
This time around, the Eagles had home-court advantage and a sense of revenge, winning in straight sets with scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-13.
“I told them in the locker room that we need some payback, that if I need to somehow motivate you guys, you’re doing the wrong thing,” AU Head Coach Barry Goldberg said. “They should want this win for themselves.”
Coming into the game, Lehigh’s Taylor Poole (.322) and AU’s Sara Rishell (.313) had the top two hitting percentages in the Patriot League. Rishell led the Eagles with 12 kills and one error for a .688 hitting percentage, while Poole finished with one kill and two errors, hitting -.143.
“Barry always talks about high hitting percentages, how it’s those teams that win games,” Rishell said. “We all just played at our steady pace to get the job done and ultimately dominate.”
Monika Smidova led the team with 20 assists, while Juliana Crum and Kelly McCaddin both had hitting percentages over .500.
Crum recorded ten kills and seven digs, while McCaddin added eight kills and contributed to the overall team’s hitting percentage of .465.
Eagles conclude regular season with Senior Day victory Despite dropping the first set against Lafayette 25-22, the Eagles came back and dominated the last three, to conclude their regular season with a 3-1 victory by scores of 22-25, 25-16, 25-12 and 25-18.
Seniors Rebecca Heath and Alexandra Hammer, who were honored in a pre-match Senior Day ceremony, fittingly led the team on both the offensive and defensive end. Heath registered a team-high 13 kills to go along with eight digs, while Hammer led the team with 12 digs.
Lafayette (10-17, 3-11 PL) took the lead in the first game, as the Eagles hit .105 compared to Lafayette’s .286.
AU then promptly swept the next three games to secure its 13th conference victory.
By the end of the afternoon, Rishell had 12 kills, while Crum added four aces and 11 kills. Smidova paced the offense with 20 assists, and Morgan Hendrix recorded three block assists.
“We knew we had to go out strong, play steady and, overall, protect our gym,” Rishell said.
The Eagles will enter the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will be looking for their tenth title in the last 11 years.
AU will face fourth-seeded Colgate University Nov. 19 in the tournament’s semifinals at Bender Arena, while the second-slotted Army Black Knights will take on Lehigh in the other matchup.
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