The American University volleyball team (15-14, 7-9 PL) swept the Holy Cross Crusaders (3-24, 1-15 PL) Nov. 12 at Bender Arena.
It was senior day for the Eagles, who celebrated the careers of six graduating seniors on the team.
“Four years flew by. These are my best friends, my family. This afternoon was really special,” senior Inbal Peleg said.
The match started off competitively, tying the score three times in the first eight points. Senior Zeynep Uzen had six early kills to keep AU in the game. The Crusaders were able to take off and establish a four-point lead over AU due to attack errors from the Eagles.
However, American did not roll over and instead clawed their way to a lead with a 7-1 run aided by three kills from Uzen. The Eagles were able to keep their momentum and finish strong with another 6-1 run, including two kills from freshman Adelina Berisha to close out the set 25-22.
The Eagles took over in the second set, establishing a 9-2 lead from the jump. AU was able to maintain this lead for the entire set, keeping the Crusaders at bay. With a kill from Berisha, American ended the set with a dominant 25-13 win.
American hit 13 kills with only two errors on 29 attacks, while the Crusaders had only nine kills with nine errors. Uzen led the set with four kills, while graduate student Carlie Fikse contributed three.
Keeping the momentum from the last set, the Eagles went on a six-point run to gain a 14-5 lead. The Crusaders were unable to keep up with the Eagles, only getting six kills and 10 points in the entire set. American finished off the set 25-10 with two kills from junior Allie Burke and two service aces from sophomore Megan Tamisiea.
The Eagles had an impressive showing this weekend, knocking off the Lafayette Leopards Friday night. Uzen totaled 46 kills on the weekend, averaging 6.6 kills per set, while Peleg averaged over 10 assists per set.
American ended their season in the Patriot League Tournement quarter-finals 1-3 against the Navy Midshipmen.
