ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team was not able to pull off an upset-win of College of Charleston tonight, Sept. 22, falling by a final of 3-0 (20-25, 18-25, 16-25) in Alumni Gym. The Cougars move to 8-5 on the season with its first Southern Conference win, while the Phoenix is now 7-10 (0-2 SoCon).
“We started out on fire tonight, which was really nice to see,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain that good play long enough. Once we become more consistent, we are going to be very tough to beat.”
Senior Celia Rose Eddy recorded four kills off eight attempts to hit .500 for the Phoenix. Sophomore Kris Harris and freshman Megan Gravley led the maroon and gold with seven kills each.
In the first set, Elon jumped out to a three-point lead, 7-4, with kills by Harris and Gravley and an ace by Ana Nicksic. The Cougars tied the score at 10-all and eventually took a 15-14 advantage. Down by six, 22-16, a kill by Eddy helped the Phoenix score three unanswered to cut the deficit to three, 22-19. CofC would hold on to win the set, 25-20.
With the Cougars leading by eight in the second set, 16-8, the maroon and gold used a 5-2 run off kills by Harris, Chanelle Smith and Nicksic and an ace by Maggie Reichard to pull within five, 18-13. After a block by Eddy and Allison Johnson put Elon within seven, 22-15, the Phoenix scored three straight with the help of a kill by Eddy and an ace by Gravley to close the Cougars’ lead to four, 22-18. CofC closed the set on a three-point run to take a 25-18 victory.
Off the serve of Darcy Dorton, the Cougars took a 7-2 lead to start the third set. A kill by Harris made it a four-point gap for the Phoenix, 7-4, before CofC went on to score 15 of the next 23 points for a 10-point advantage, 22-12. Elon then made a 4-1 run with two kills by Gravley to pull within seven of the Cougars, 23-16. However, the Phoenix could not complete the comeback and fell to CofC, 25-16.
Elon makes its first SoCon road trip of the season next week with a match at division opponents Western Carolina and Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 28, and Saturday, Sept. 29, respectively.