Nov. 30, 2002

WASHINGTON -- The American University volleyball team lost its regular season finale to Atlantic 10 Champion Temple Saturday at Bender Arena, 3-0. Scores of the individual matches were 30-21, 32-30 and 31-29 as AU snapped its 18-match winning streak.

The Eagles, who clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament by virtue of capturing its second straight Patriot League title, are now 26-7 overall and were 14-0 in the Patriot League. The Owls, who defeated George Washington in the A-10 Championship final, are now 26-6 overall and were 13-1 in conference play with a 3-1 decision to Xavier marking the only blemish.

The Eagles hit a low .209 compared with Temple's .319 despite the impressive play of freshman Cutrina Biddulph and sophomore Natacha Cornaz, who each chipped in with 11 kills while hitting over .500 Cornaz also added five digs as the duo combined for five blocks.

2002 Patriot League Player of the Year Karla Kucerkova had a match-high 14 kills in 42 attemptes while senior Judit Szekelyhidi added five kills. Sophomores Courtney Mulford and Sabrina Vasconcelos split the setter duties as Mulford had 19 and Vasconcelos added 15, mostly in the third game.

For the Owls, Margaret Majewska, Liu Shu and Yamit Haba each reached double-figures in kills, combining for 34 of their team's 53 total kills. Allison Runk was impressive at setter with 43 assists while Yamit had a match-high 12 kills.

The Eagles will await seeding for the Division 1 NCAA Tournament Sunday night when the Selection Show airs at 9 p.m. on ESPNEWS.

Match Summary
Kills: Temple 53; American 47
Attack Percentage: Temple .319; American .209
Blocks: Temple 8; American 6
Assists: Temple 50; American 39