American University’s volleyball season has been full of positives, and now the Eagles are on the hunt for the Patriot League tournament title. They are currently ranked #3 in the standings, trailing Colgate and Bucknell, and have clinched a home game in the first round of the tournament against whoever is the sixth seed.
I recently attended the match against Colgate and was not immediately impressed, after some miscommunication and visible frustration in the first set. However, in the end, the Eagles pushed through and earned a hard fought victory against a team that they lost to 3-1 earlier this season.
Now, they only have one game left in the season: their senior day matchup against Lehigh. They won against Lehigh with little trouble earlier this season, and if they want to continue to build momentum into the postseason, they need to do it again.
Once the Eagles get to the Patriot League Tournament, there is a chance they could have a second straight match against Lehigh, but they could also face Army or Loyola Maryland. Whichever team it is, the Eagles should not have trouble with them, and if they do, then I have confidence that they will get through it with a victory.
After that, the Eagles will see a much tougher matchup. They will most likely face either Colgate or Bucknell in the second round. They will have to quickly step up their game from the previous match. The Eagles have proven that they can compete with those teams, but not every time. Even if they win against one of them, chances are they will have to face the other one to win the tournament.
If American has a strong start, and doesn’t show fatigue or lose focus, they have a shot to go all the way. I would not put money on the Eagles to win this tournament, but at the same time it would not surprise me if they did. They have shown great perseverance throughout this season, and proved that they belong with the best teams.
It comes down to the first round game against either Lehigh, Army or Loyola Maryland. American has the capability to blow each of those teams out, and they need to do exactly that. Playing down to competition will only worsen the team for the next game, but building up confidence by winning a match by a large margin is the perfect way to go against a team that beat them before.
For any of this to happen, however, The Eagles need leaders. They need leaders like senior Esma Sipahi and freshman Zedo Yilmaz, who have both been stepping up this entire season. A team cannot survive adversity, especially in a postseason environment, without leaders. I feel good about the Eagles’ leaders, and believe that they have the ability to take this team to a Patriot League title, or maybe even beyond, but that is a conversation for another day.
Another aspect of the team’s success has been and will continue to be head coach Ahen Kim. He has led this team to a second consecutive 20-win season, and as impressive as that is, there is still more to do.
Kim got a taste of success in the Patriot League tournament last season, shutting out both Loyola Maryland and Army, but then fell in the same manner to Colgate in the championship. Assuming that Kim wants to further that success from last season, he will need to ensure his players are prepared for the rigorous competition that they will face in the week ahead.
As I said earlier, I think American has a chance to make its way through this tournament and come out on top, but it is not going to be an easy task. Eagles fans are itching for the team to get over the hump that they could not clear last season. If the players buy in, and the coaches can help them improve along the way, I think they are well on their way to a shot at the Patriot League Championship for the first time since 2019.
This article was edited by Penelope Jennings, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Emma Brown, Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Nicole Kariuki.
