AU volleyball maintained its No. 1 tie with Colgate University in Patriot League standings after sweeping the Loyola University Greyhounds in a three-game homestand on Oct. 2 in Bender Arena.
Beating Loyola gives AU (17-1, 3-0 PL) its third straight victory against conference teams and a seven game winning streak. The Eagles have yet to lose a game against a team in the Patriot League.
This match was AU’s first game against Loyola since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League this season.
After initially at a tie with Loyola (4-11, 1-2, PL) at five in the first set, AU pulled away quickly, going on a 4-0 run, keeping their lead for the rest of the set taking it 25-18.
Several players contributed to the Eagle’s game play. Six different players notched a kill during the first set. At one point, senior middle blocker Morgan Hendrix had two straight kills to push AU’s lead to 18-8. Junior setter Monika Smidova notched 15 of her 35 total assists during the first set.
AU handily won the second set despite initially being neck-in-neck with Loyola. AU built and sustained its lead following a 4-0 run started on by a kill from Hendrix, allowing AU to pull ahead of Loyola 14-8.
Attack errors on Loyola’s part kept the Eagles ahead of the Greyhounds. Consecutive service aces by junior outside hitter Allison Cappellino secured the second set for AU and allowed them to win the set 25-12.
Unlike the previous two sets, the Eagles were quick to pull away in the third set with contributions from all the players on the floor. AU shut Loyola down with the help of a powerful kill by junior middle blocker Kristyna Lindovska, giving AU a 9-3 lead.
The Eagles steadily increased their lead during the third set culminating in the first match point at 24-14. Loyola attempted to prevent the Eagles to take the set by scoring two points of their own before a kill by Smidova to give AU the match.
Senior outside hitter Juliana Crum continued her terrific play against the Greyhounds. She was recognized as the Patriot League Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Sept. 30. Crum notched 10 kills during Wednesday night’s match, efficiently hitting .714.
Many other Eagles had great plays during the match. Lindvoska had a game-high with 11 kills against the Greyhounds. In addition to her 35 assists, Smidova also notched seven digs, which tied the game-high.
Despite their dominant play, the Eagles are still looking for ways to enhance their play.
“I think we have so [many] things to do still,” Lindovska said. “We all have a really big dream to bring back the Patriot League, but there are little steps we need to figure out and we have to improve a little.”
The Eagles will play two more games in Bender Arena against College of the Holy Cross on Oct. 4 and the United States Military Academy on Oct. 5. However, due to the government shutdown, AU’s match against the Army is uncertain as all athletics at service academies are suspended.
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