The American University volleyball team (18-4, 8-2) swept the Holy Cross Crusaders (2-17, 0-10) in Bender Arena on Oct. 25 by a score of 25-17, 25-15, 25-17.
The Eagles rode two wins over the Army Black Knights coming into this match, a four-set victory at home on Oct. 12, then a four-set victory on the road a week later on Oct. 19. Holy Cross came off of two disappointing losses against Lehigh in the previous weeks, a four-set loss in Bethlehem on Oct. 13 and a sweep loss at home on Oct. 19.
American came out swinging in the first set, putting up a 6-point lead at 13-7 before the Crusaders called a timeout to recoup.
After the timeout, a 7-6 run for Holy Cross, four of those points occurring in a row, forced an American timeout. Back in their rhythm, the Eagles closed out the set, sealed with a spike from freshman middle blocker Elise Sterling.
The second set saw American get out to a big lead again, but Holy Cross came back, tying the set up at 15 before Eagles head coach Ahen Kim’s challenge of an ace from Holy Cross. The call on the spot was overturned, and the Eagles cruised for the rest of the set, putting up a 9-1 run to close it out and go up 2-0 in the matchup.
Sophomore outside hitter Sofia Osterdahl clinched the set this time, knocking a kill off of a Holy Cross defender, sending the ball far into the stands at Bender Arena.
The result for the third set was never in question, even as the Crusaders tied the set at 5. The Eagles just kept pelting the Crusaders with kill after kill, racking up 15 kills on the set: Sterling put up one, sophomore outside hitter Zedo Yilmaz dropped two, senior setter Esma Sipahi dunked three, Osterdahl spiked four and sophomore outside hitter Holly Hopkins notched five. An attack error from Holy Cross ended the match with a third set score of 25-17.
“I was able to play the ball perfectly, it went where I wanted it to go. I put that all on my teammates for getting me to that point,” Hopkins said after the game. Hopkins’ seven kills was her highest mark since the Patriot League semifinal match the Eagles played against Army last season.
Yilmaz led the team in kills for the match with 13, followed by Osterdahl with eight and Hopkins’ total of seven. Sipahi accompanied three kills with 34 assists in the match; and senior libero Bridget Javitch and Yilmaz were tied for the most digs in the match with 11. The Eagles posted four hitters with a hitting percentage at or above .300 on the day: Sipahi, Hopkins, Osterdahl and Sterling.
“I’m proud of what we were able to do today,” Kim said after the game.
The Eagles prepared for the match on Oct. 26 against Colgate the night after, with both Hopkins and Marrero citing the team was “fired up” to play the Raiders.
“The message in practice this week has been patience: having patience when they [Holy Cross and Colgate] change things up and try something new,” Kim said. “We have endless confidence going into tomorrow, and we’ll see what Colgate brings.”
After a pulse-pounding five-set win against Colgate on Oct. 26, the Eagles prepare to take a road trip on Nov. 1 and 2, taking on Lafayette and the team’s final road game league-leading Bucknell. American returns home on Nov. 8 to play Loyola Maryland.
This article was edited by Penelope Jennings, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
