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American Volleyball Sweeps Patriot League Weekly Honors
Kucerkova, Vasconcelos Garner Player and Rookie of the Week Nods

September 24, 2001

Sophomore Karla Kucerkova was named the Patriot League Player of the Week for two outstanding performances against league opponents Holy Cross and Army over the weekend.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The 2001 American volleyball team opened its inaugural Patriot League season with a bang, sweeping both Holy Cross and Army, 3-0, over the weekend and nabbing both weekly awards presented by the league office on Monday.

Sophomore Karla Kucerkova (Olomovc, Czech Republic/Brno) was named the Patriot League Player of the Week while teammate Sabrina Vasconcelos (Fortalezza, Brazil/Colegio Christus) earned Rookie of the Week honors.

A 6-3 outside hitter from the Czech Republic, Kucerkova recorded 12 kills and nine digs in American’s league-opening 3-0 win (30-17, 30-26, 30-23) at Holy Cross on Friday. She followed that up with a game-high 16 kills, 14 digs and just two attack errors in the team’s
3-0 win (30-20, 30-22, 30-18) over Army on Saturday. The sophomore is boasting a team-best 4.55 kills per game mark and a team-high 2.58 digs per game average.

Vasconcelos, who is coming off a redshirt freshman season, was a large part of the Eagles’ success over the weekend as the setter recorded 51 assists against the Crusaders and 38 assists at Army. An All-Tournament selection at the UNLV/Gameworks Invitational
Sept. 5-7 along with Kucerkova, Vasconcelos has accumulated 352 assists in American’s nine matches this season.

The Eagles (7-2, 2-0 Patriot League) prepare for their first home match of the season on Tuesday against Loyola at 7:00 p.m.

American University became a full member of the Patriot League on July 1 after competing in the Colonial Athletic Association since the 1985-86 academic year.

American University, founded in 1893, fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program, featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men.