Elon Volleyball Defeats Aggies in Three

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team (11-9) closed out its five-match road swing with a sweep, 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-17), at North Carolina A&T (2-18) tonight, Oct. 8, in Moore Gym.

“We played with a lot of confidence tonight,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “It was nice to see us continue to play at a high level against a non-conference opponent. N.C. A&T gave us a big push at the start of the third set but we were able to match it on our side of the court.”

Junior Chanelle Smith hit .600 after a match-high nine kills off 15 attempts and no errors. Senior Cali Estes, sophomore Megan Gravley and junior Kris Harris all hit over .400 as Estes and Gravley posted seven kills and Harris finished with six.

On defense, Harris recorded six blocks, followed by C. Smith who tallied three, as well as a team-high eight digs. Freshman Ally Karle and Gravley also finished with two blocks each.

Elon jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the first set after three kills from C. Smith. Kills by Danielle Smith and C. Smith and an ace by Morgan Maner helped the maroon and gold maintain a 10-point advantage, 17-7, and force the Aggies to call their second timeout of the set. Karle gave the Phoenix the win with a kill to close out a 25-14 victory.

In the second set, a block by Karle and Gravley helped put the maroon and gold ahead, 5-2. Up by six, 10-4, the Phoenix put together an 8-0 run off Aggie errors, a kill by D. Smith and two aces by Maggie Reichard to take an 18-4 edge. Four kills by Harris would help Elon on to a 25-11 win and a 2-0 match lead.

A&T kept the third set close, taking an 8-6 lead over the Phoenix. Two kills by C. Smith, a block by both C. Smith and Harris and an ace by Ana Nicksic helped Elon to a 6-1 run and a 12-9 advantage. With the maroon and gold up, 16-13, a kill by Karle sparked a span of three straight for the Phoenix to extend its lead by six. Elon closed out the set, and the match, on a 5-1 run to claim a 25-17 final-set victory.

The Phoenix will return to Southern Conference play on Friday, Oct. 11, as it hosts The Citadel in Alumni Gym in a 7 p.m. match.