Elon Volleyball Phoenix Falls to Tribe on Road

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After evening the match after the second set, the Elon volleyball team (5-14, 0-4 CAA) was not able keep the momentum going in its favor, falling to William & Mary (5-13, 1-3 CAA), 3-1 (14-25, 25-22, 9-25, 16-25), tonight, Oct. 4, in Kaplan Arena.

“Sydney (Busa) had a great offensive night but we didn’t give her any help,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “Our errors are what hurt us tonight. We can’t give a team that many points and expect to win the match. We’ll work on correcting that before our next match.”

Sydney Busa led the team with a double-double, her fourth of the season, after 13 kills and 11 digs. On defense, Chanelle Smith tallied 19 digs, while Catherine Head recorded six blocks to help the Phoenix out-block the Tribe, 10-9.5.

Kills by Busa and Megan Gravley put Elon out to a 4-3 lead in the first set before a 6-0 run by the Tribe gave W&M a 9-4 advantage. Back-to-back kills from Busa kept the Phoenix within three, 9-6, but the Phoenix was never able to overcome the deficit as the Tribe took the set, 25-14.

Elon took an early three-point edge, 6-3, with the help of kills by Kayla Agae, Head, Kris Harris, Busa and Gravley in set two. The Phoenix maintained a one to two point advantage until the Tribe evened the score at 12-all and took a 16-12 lead. The maroon and gold rallied with a 8-2 run with the help of back-to-back aces by Gravley, a block by Harris and Sydel Curry and an Agae kill to regain the lead, 20-18. Three kills by Busa and a block by Busa and Head would close out a 25-22 win for the Phoenix to even the match with the Tribe.

Kills by Head and Gravley and a block by Harris and Curry kept the Phoenix within two of the Tribe early in the third set, 6-4. However, W&M was able to move out to a strong advantage, 18-6, and not look back, winning, 25-9.

The Tribe carried its momentum into the fourth set, claiming the first five points to lead 5-0. A block by Busa and Michelle Klein and kills by Busa and Agae closed the gap to six, 9-3, but W&M would not let the set get away and moved on to a 25-16 victory.

Elon will play its third straight road match on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at former Southern Conference rival UNCG in Greensboro, N.C., at 7 p.m.