The first game of the season for the AU women’s volleyball team was a rousing success as they swept crosstown rivals Howard University 3-0 on Aug. 30. The game took place in Fairfax, Va. as part of the D.C. Volleyball Challenge.
AU dominated the first set as they began the with a 11-2 run. Howard posed little threat throughout the entire set, allowing the Eagles to take the first set 25-9.
The second set was more competitive as Howard managed to stay even at the start, tying the set at seven. Despite AU regaining the lead, Howard managed to pull within four at 19-15. However, that would curtail the scoring for Howard in the set as AU won the set 25-15 behind a 6-0 run.
In the third set, Howard managed to take an 8-7 lead early on but four straight points from AU gave the Eagles an 11-8 lead that they would not relinquish throughout the rest of the set.
Unlike the first two sets, Howard remained within range, reducing the AU lead to as little as one point as the Bison battled back to make the score 16-15. Despite the attempt at a comeback, sparked by a late 7-1 run, AU managed to take the third set 25-20 and sweep Howard 3-0.
Kristyna Lindovska was AU’s leading scorer with 15 kills during the match as assist leader Monika Smidova scored 22. Overall, the Eagles hit .314 as a team while holding Howard to a .010 hitting percentage. Howard’s Katherine Broussard was the leading scorer with 8 kills and Stephanie Shultis as the assist leader.
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