Elon Volleyball Concludes Kennesaw State Owls Invitational

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Elon volleyball team (2-4) fought hard in the final day of the Kennesaw State Owls Invitational before falling to No. 7 Purdue (5-0), 3-0 (20-25, 19-25, 18-25), and UNC Asheville (1-5), 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-9), today, Sept. 6. The match against the Boilermakers marked was the first against a ranked opponent in its Division I era.

“We played a really smart match this morning against Purdue and competed well,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “We just had trouble closing out each set after hanging with them at the beginning. Against UNC Asheville we simply made too many unforced errors, while they seemed to play error free. We look forward to coming home and playing High Point on Wednesday.”

Elon 0, #7 Purdue 3

Elon started strong from the start taking a 4-0 lead off blocks by Ally Karle and Sydney Busa and an ace by Danielle Smith. Purude evened the set at five-all but the set remained close with neither team taking more than a one-point lead until the Boilermakers scored four straight for a three-point advantage, 18-15. Two kills by D. Smith and one by Busa kept the score close but Purdue was able to keep the edge and win, 25-20.

With the second set tied at five-all, two kills by Kayla Agae and back-to-back aces by Chanelle Smith helped Elon to 9-6 advantage. Purdue would rally to even the score again, 12-all, and take the lead, 19-15. Kills by C. Smith and Agae kept the set within reach for the Phoenix before the Boilermakers closed out the win, 25-19.

In the third set, two kills by Busa, along with kills by C. Smith and Agae and a block by Busa and Kris Harris, gave the maroon and gold a four-point lead, 7-3. Elon held the edge by two, 11-9, after a kill by Harris, but Purdue rallied to a 16-12 advantage. Kills by Agae would keep the Phoenix within four, 22-18, but couldn’t make a comeback as the Boilermakers finished with three straight points to win, 25-18, and remain perfect in matches and sets on the season.

Agae led the Phoenix with seven kills off 14 attempts and only one error to hit .429. Busa also recorded seven kills with D. Smith posting six kills and C. Smith tallying three aces. On defense, Busa led the way with four blocks.

Elon 2, UNC Asheville 3

After the Bulldogs claimed the first three points, kills by Agae, Busa and D. Smith and a block by Busa and D. Smith evened the score at four-all. Kills by Agae kept the Phoenix within two, 11-9, before UNCA managed 5-1 run for a 16-10 edge. Elon would hold the Bulldogs at set point twice with a kill by Michelle Klein and a block by Harris and Busa before UNCA took the set, 25-18.

With the second set tied at five-all, a kill and solo block by Sydel Curry, along with a block by both D. Smith and Curry, helped Elon to a 5-1 run for a 10-6 lead. The Bulldogs rallied to even the score at 15-all and eventually take a 19-17 edge. The Phoenix scored the next three points with the help of kills by Agae and Klein to make it 19-all.

The third set was close with both teams trading points and neither team taking more than a one-point advantage for the first 19 combined points. With UNCA leading, 13-12, kills by Klein and Agae capped three straight points for the Phoenix to take the edge, 15-13, forcing a Bulldog timeout. UNCA would claim the lead again, 18-16, before a block by Busa and Harris tied the set for the 13th time, 20-all. Two kills by Megan Gravley and a solo block by Harris put the Phoenix back up two, 23-21. Kills by Harris and Chelsea Rafetto sealed the win, 25-23, and kept the match alive for the Phoenix.

The Phoenix roared out to a 9-2 lead in the fourth set off kills by Agae, D. Smith and Gravley and an ace by Agae. UNCA responded with a 4-0 run to cut its deficit to three, 9-6. Blocks by Klein, Curry and Agae put Elon back ahead with an eight-point advantage, 18-10. The Bulldogs would trim the Elon lead to three, 23-20, but the maroon and gold would take the win, 25-21, to force a deciding fifth set.

With the fifth and final set tied at three-all, the Bulldogs managed to take the next six points to lead, 9-3. UNCA would hold on to take the 3-2 win with a 15-9 final-set victory.

For the second straight match, Agae led the maroon and gold with 15 kills, while D. Smith posted 13 kills. Gravley finished 10 kills and Klein hit .538 after eight kills on 13 attempts and only one error, as well as tallying four blocks.

Elon returns home to face local rival High Point on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.