CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Elon volleyball team was not able to knock off league co-leader College of Charleston today, Nov. 8, falling to the Cougars 3-0 (18-25, 20-25, 21-25) in TD Arena.
“We competed hard tonight against one of the top teams in the CAA and gave ourselves an opportunity to win,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “It was nice to see us bounce back from our previous match with a much better performance.”
Megan Gravley and Ally Karle both finished with six kills, while Gravley also tallied eight digs. On defense, Kris Harris posted a match-high four blocks to help the Phoenix out block the Cougars, 8-5. Morgan Maner led Elon with 12 digs in the match, while Ana Nicksic recorded a match-high 18 assists.
Kills by Kayla Agae, Karle, two aces by Catherine Head and a block by Harris and Sydney Busa quickly put the Phoenix up 6-1 in the first set. The Cougars responded and took the lead, 10-9, forcing an Elon timeout. Despite a block by Nicksic and Head and another by Karle and Harris, the CofC managed to move ahead, 20-13. The Cougars maintained its advantage and went on to claim a 25-18 win.
Two kills by Karle and one by each Busa and Gravley gave the maroon and gold a 4-1 advantage at the beginning of the second set. CofC evened the score at seven-all before kills by Danielle Smith, Gravley and Karle put Elon back up by two, 10-8. With the set tied at 15-all, the Phoenix score three straight off kills from Head, Gravley and Busa to lead 18-15 and force the Cougars to call a timeout. The score became even again at 20-all and CofC managed to take the final five points and the set, 25-20.
After a kill and an ace by Gravley started set three, the score became tied at seven-all. The Cougars claimed the lead, 15-12, before kills by Harris and Gravley helped even the score again, 15-all. CofC pulled ahead by three once again, 20-17, but Elon responded with three straight with the help of a kill by Busa and a block by Chanelle Smith and Michelle Klein to make it 20-all. However, the Cougars went on to close the set out on a 5-1 run to take a 25-21 win.
Elon remains on the road next weekend for the final two matches of the regular season. The Phoenix plays next at Delaware on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in Newark, Del.