In his 25 years at AU, volleyball head coach Barry Goldberg has established himself as one of the top coaches in the Patriot League. Over the weekend, Goldberg solidified himself as one of the top coaches currently in Division I volleyball.
Goldberg earned his 600th career win becoming the seventh active coach in Division I history to accomplish the feat. His win came after the Eagles won three of their four games in California from Sept. 21-23.
The lone loss of the weekend came in AU’s first game of the road trip against UC Irvine (9-5, 0-0, Big West) on Sept. 20, AU’s first loss of the season. Heading into the game, AU was 10-0, which set a new record for the best start in program history.
AU fell to UC Irvine despite winning the first set of the game 25-19. Despite dropping the next three sets, the Eagles were competitive with the Anteaters. Irvine held a 17-9 lead during the third set, a deficit which AU eventually cut to 20-18. However, the Eagles could not sustain the comeback and lost the third set to the Anteaters 25-21. The Eagles went on to lose the fourth set 25-21.
On the same day, AU bounced back to beat Fresno State (6-6, 0-0, MW). After losing the first and third sets, AU would go on to win the next two sets to snap the short one-game losing streak. The game went back and forth as both teams tied each other consistently throughout the match. AU went on to win the fifth set 15-10, giving Goldberg the historic win.
AU had its second comeback of the weekend by beating Xavier (7-6, 0-0, A-10) on Sept. 21. The Eagles lost the first two sets of the game to the Musketeers. Both teams fought hard in the third set, posting 11 ties. AU went on to win the third set 25-22.
The third set victory would spark the Eagles’ comeback. It would not be an easy comeback but AU would go on to win the next two sets, including a fifth set which saw nine ties and two lead changes.
The Eagles’ final game of the weekend was against Cal State Fullerton (7-5, 0-0, Big West). The Eagles lost the first two sets to the Titans, and the situation looked grim for AU when the Titans went on a a 9-1 run in the second set to close out the Eagles 25-9.
Nevertheless, the Eagles overcame the set disadvantage and fought back. The Eagles managed to win the third and fourth sets, forcing a fifth set against the Titans. The Eagles fell behind during the final set, but were able to tie the game following block by junior outside hitter Kristyna Lindovska and then take the lead after a block by senior middle blocker Morgan Hendrix. AU sustained its lead for the rest of the set after, earning a 17-15 win during the final set. AU beat Cal State Fullerton 3-2.
Senior outside hitter Juliana Crum and Lindovska were chosen as part of the All-Tournament Team following AU’s matches on Saturday. Crum had double-doubles in all four games over the weekend.
Lindovska also earned a career-best 24 kills against Xavier on Saturday night. Lindovska two straight double-double matches against Fresno and then Xavier.
AU will play their next game at home on Sept. 25 against UMBC. This will be the first game AU will play at home in Bender Arena since the Bender Blue Out against Georgetown on Aug. 31.
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