Nov. 19, 2005
For the fifth season in a row top-seeded American claimed the Patriot League Volleyball Championship title with a 3-2 win over No. 3 Army on Saturday night at Bender Arena on the campus of American University. The Eagles took five games to capture the win with scores of 30-24, 17-20, 27-30, 30-28, 15-6, being pushed to the final frame for just the second time ever against a League opponent, having done so the night before against Bucknell in the semifinals.
Army defeated archrival Navy, 3-0, in the semifinal round to advance to its second-consecutive championship game. The Black Knights end the season 21-7, while the Eagles improve to 24-9 overall.
Coach Barry Goldberg's squad never gave up, coming back from being down two games to one to take the next two from Army. The Eagles were down 22-10 at one point in game four, but would not settle for second place. The entire match was a hard fought battle with both teams coming from behind over and over, but it was the Eagles who came out on top by never giving up.
Sophomore middle blocker Chelsa Brooks (Hillard, Ohio/Hillard-Darby) was named tournament MVP after hitting .355 in the championship match and .400 in the semifinal. Brooks collected 20 kills and nine blocks over the two days.
The Eagles were also led by Cutrina Biddulph (Reseda, Calif./Granada Hills) who hit .360 against the Black Knights, while recording a team-high 19 kills. Rubena Sukaj (Tirana, Albania/Asim Vokshi) and Elizabeth Maloney (Toronto, Ontario/Richview C.I.) each registered double-digit kills with 18 and 17, respectively, with Sukaj also coming up with 10 digs and four aces.
For the runner-up Black Knights Eileen Cassidy (Orlando Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) and Elizabeth Lazzari (Seal Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly) posted double-doubles. Cassidy had 20 kills and 14 digs, while Lazzari, the 2005 Rookie of the Year, had 23 kills and 16 digs. Senior setter Abby Casciato (West Palm Beach, Fla./Lake Worth) recorded a match-high 58 assists and added in two aces. Casciato, who was named this season's Player of the Year, ends her career with 216 aces, fourth all-time in the Patriot League and 4,019 assists, for third all-time.
The Eagles will learn of their NCAA opponent on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNews. The 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament will begin on Thursday, Dec. 1 when first round action kicks off on campus sites yet to be determined.
American is 0-4 in the NCAA tourney, falling to Penn State, 3-0, last season and seeing defeats from Maryland, South Carolina and Colorado in previous years. As a whole the Patriot League is 0-8 in the national tournament.
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