ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team (1-3) picked up its first win of the season in its home opener tonight, August 29, with a sweep of North Carolina A&T (0-4), 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-23), in Alumni Gym.
“It was nice to get a three-set win tonight at home,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “We were really focused on our defense and I felt like we made a lot of improvements in that area since last weekend. We blocked much more aggressively, which made it a lot easier on our defenders. I felt A&T is definitely a better team than they were a year ago. Hal (Clifton) has done a good job training his returners and bringing in some quality newcomers.”
Sophomore Kris Harris led all players with 11 kills, hitting .421 off 19 attempts with three errors, while freshman Ana Nicksic tallied three aces and 21 assists. On defense, senior Ali Deatsch finished with 10 digs and freshman Catherine Head recorded three blocks.
With the first set tied at six-all, the Phoenix scored eight straight with the help of two aces and a kill by Nicksic to take a 14-8 lead. Up by five, 19-14, a kill by Megan Gravley increased the Elon advantage to six and forced an Aggie timeout. Out of the break, A&T went on a 6-3 run to pull within in three of the Phoenix, 23-20. A kill by Harris sealed the first-set win for the maroon and gold, 25-20.
The Aggies took a quick 3-0 advantage to start the second set but the Phoenix was able to work its way back to tie the set at five-all. With the set knotted at seven, Elon went on a four-point run off several A&T errors to take an 11-7 lead. After an Aggie point made it a three-point set, 11-8, the Phoenix scored six straight, which included an ace and kill by Nicksic, for a 17-8 advantage. The maroon and gold finished the set on a 5-3 run off kills from Harris and Allison Johnson to win by nine, 25-16, and take a 2-0 match lead.
Elon opened the third set to a three-point lead, 7-4, forcing Clifton to call an early timeout. The Aggies came out of the timeout on a 5-1 run, taking one-point advantage, 9-8, before a kill by Carly Ledbetter tied the set again at nine-all. The set remained close with neither team taking more than a two-point lead before a kill by Head put the maroon and gold up three, 22-19. Three points later, the Aggies tied the set at 22-all, but the Phoenix won three of the final four points and finished the set, and the match, with a block by Celia Rose Eddy and Johnson to win by a final of 25-23.
Elon will host its annual Elon Phoenix Classic this weekend Friday, August 31 – Saturday, Sept. 1, in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix will face Gardner-Webb on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on North Carolina Central and Alabama on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.