AU volleyball added yet another win to their record after Saturday’s game against Lafayette College, building on a 10-game winning streak.
AU (15-9, 8-0 PL) opened up the game by sweeping Lafayette 25-8 in the first set. Junior libero Kristen Largay earned the Eagles points with her crucial digs, and junior middle blocker Vela McBride’s blocks proved effective. Senior outside hitter Aleksandra Kazala’s service aces helped AU begin the second set with a 2-point lead.. The team carried their lead all through the set, and in the end, they won 25-12.
In the third and final set, sophomore setter Olivia Wassner’s 13 assists and 3 points gave AU the close-out victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Helena Elbaek had 12 kills, the most in the game. Elbaek has a 2.64 kills per set score overall this season. The Eagles finished the game with 32 digs, 6 blocks and 8 aces, nearly doubling Lafayette’s stats in the respective categories.
Head coach Barry Goldberg was commemorated before the game in Bender for his 30th season coaching AU volleyball. McKenzie, Kazala and Elbaek presented Goldberg with memorabilia honoring his career.
Goldberg has won 15 out of the last 17 Patriot League titles and has made 17 NCAA tournament appearances in the last 21 years.
“With all the things that go on with school, everyday pressures and sometimes injuries, you just have to balance all of it out, stick together and do the best you can,” Goldberg said. “It has kind of snowballed into a big streak of doing well but we just take what’s here in front of us step by step.”
After defeating Bucknell 3-0 at home on Sunday during Senior Day, the Eagles will travel to play against Navy in their next game on Friday for a competitive match against their 2017 Patriot League championship opponents.
