Saturday, August 25, 2018

Women's Volleyball: American 3 George Mason 0

Aleksandra Kazala (#1) led American with 7 kills

From our friends at AU Athletics...

Kazala Leads @AU_Volleyball as Eagles Ace Patriots

Aleksandra Kazala had five of her team-high seven kills in the third set to spark American University to a 25-15, 25-15, 25-14 volleyball win over George Mason Friday in the season-opener for each team.

American finished with 12 service aces in the match, getting four each from Kazala and Kristen Largay. The total is more than the Eagles posted as a team in any match all last season.

Kristen Largay led all players with 13 digs

• Junior outside Jasmine Ellison started for the Eagles for the first time since her freshman year and finished with six kills.

Junior Jasmine Allison (#6) finished with 6 kills

• Senior Loren McKenzie, who missed all but two sets a year ago with an Achilles injury, led AU with six blocks, while Vela McBride finished with five blocks and five kills.

5 blocks for Junior Vela McBride

• McBride had four of her kills in the second set, as the Eagles hit .474 (11 kills, 2 errors, 19 attempts) and led wire-to-wire.

Junior Shannon Webb (#5) added 2 kills

• The Eagles finished by hitting .296 and posted 11 team blocks to hold the Patriots to a -.011 hitting percentage. Mason had 26 kills and 27 errors.

Senior Loren McKenzie led all players with 7 blocks

• Largay led AU with 13 digs and needs only 15 more to become only the seventh AU player to reach 1,000 career digs.

Senior Catie Espinoza (#10) & Patriots celebrate in 2nd set

Siron Hardy had 13 of Mason's 26 kills in the match.

NEXT UP:
American continues play in the D.C. Volleyball Challenge at 4 PM on Saturday when it travels to George Washington. The Colonials are coached by former AU assistant Sarah Bernson.

The Eagles return to Bender Arena on Sunday for a 4 PM matchup with No. 1-ranked Stanford. The annual Bender Blue Out is presented by the Marines.

TICKETS:
Presale tickets for Sunday's Stanford match are going quickly and a potential sellout is possible.

Tickets to all home games for the 2018 season are on sale now. Season tickets are $50, with general admission seating for individual games at $8. Email clawed@american.edu or call (202) 885-TIXX to purchase tickets.

Click here for last night's box score.