Nov. 17, 2007
2007 Patriot League Volleyball Championship Page
Washington, D.C. - American earned its seventh-straight Patriot League Volleyball Tournament title with a 3-0 win over Colgate on Saturday in Bender Arena. The top-seeded Eagles defeated the No. 3 Raiders by scores of 30-23, 30-26 and 30-18. American will play in the NCAA Tournament as the Patriot League's automatic bid.
The Eagles have won four of their seven tournament titles in a 3-0 sweep. The Raiders were making their first Patriot League Tournament Championship Match appearance since 2000.
American (26-7) was led by junior Rubena Sukaj's match-high 26 kills. Her kill total in the championship match put her first all-time on the League's single-season kills list with 615. Her career total now sits at 1,581 kills for third on the Patriot League career chart. Sophomore Ivana Cebakova was also in double-digit kills with 10. Junior Christina Nash came up with a match-high 44 assists,
For Colgate (17-13), junior Katrina Zawojski recorded a team-high 14 kills, followed by senior Merryl Pohl with nine kills and a .409 hitting percentage without an error. Junior Jackie Adlam has 12 digs, while sophomore Meghan Fanta posted 40 assists. Adlam moved to second all-time in Patriot League history with 1,597 career digs. She will need just 14 digs in her senior season to take over the top spot.
The Eagles outhit the Raiders .435 to .240. American posted 60 team kills and nine aces.
Nash earned Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player honors with 81 assists, three blocks and two aces over two matches. Against Navy, she hit .428 and posted a .400 attack percentage versus Colgate.
American placed three student-athletes on the 2007 Patriot League All-Tournament Team, including Sukaj, Cynammon Burns and Cassandra Ricketts. Others on the all-tournament team were Colgate's Adlam and Pohl, Army's Elizabeth Lazzari and Navy's Krista Eschelman.
American will find out its NCAA Tournament opponent, site and date on Sunday, Nov. 25. The NCAA Tournament bracket announcement will be made at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. First and second-round play will take place Nov. 29-30 or Nov. 30-Dec. 1 or 1-2 on campus sites.
2007 Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player Christina Nash, American
2007 Patriot League All-Tournament Team
Cynammon Burns, American
Cassandra Ricketts, American
Rubena Sukaj, American
Elizabeth Lazzari, Army
Jackie Adlam, Colgate
Merryl Pohl, Colgate
Krista Eschelman, Navy
