ELON, N.C. – With the match tied at one-all after two sets, the Elon volleyball team claimed the next two sets to take its first Colonial Athletic Association win of the season at William & Mary, 3-1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16), tonight, Oct. 17, in Kaplan Arena.
The Phoenix (4-17, 1-7 CAA) was led by 13 kills off 23 attempts and only one error from Ally Karle who also hit .522 in the match. Sydney Busa added 12 kills, while Kayla Agae and Kam Terry both finished with eight kills. Sydel Curry matched her career-high with 46 assists to average 11.5 assists per set.
On defense, Elon out-blocked W&M, 9-4, with the help of five blocks each from Curry and Catherine Head.
The Tribe (8-13, 2-6 CAA) saw a match-high 19 kills from Heather Pippus and another 11 kills from Sysney Binak.
How it happened: With the first set tied at 20-all, Elon used kills by Agae and Karle and a block by Head and Agae to reach set point, 24-21. The Tribe managed to pull within one, 24-23, before a block by Head and Agae gave the Phoenix the 25-23 win to take the early match lead.
W&M jumped out to a 6-1 advantage to start the second set before an 11-7 run by the maroon and gold closed the gap to one, 13-12. The Tribe was able to resume a six-point lead, 20-14, and finish the set out with a 25-20 victory to even the match.
Kills by Agae, Terry, Karle and Michelle Klein helped Elon to an 11-5 lead in the third set, forcing a W&M timeout. The Tribe pulled within four, 21-17, before kills by Sydney Busa, Klein and Karle gave the maroon and gold set point, 24-10. A kill by Terry closed out the set, 25-10, to give the Phoenix a 2-1 match lead.
With the fourth set tied at six-all, Elon used a 9-3 run off kills by Karle, Curry, Ebony Scott, Klein and Terry and an ace by Agae to take am 16-10 lead. The Phoenix maintained its advantage and a kill by Busa and another ace by Agae closed out the set, 25-16, and the win for the Phoenix.
Notes: Elon now only trails William & Mary, 4-3, in the all-time series…The match marked the 14th time this season Elon has out-blocked its opponent…Curry has tallied 166 assists in the team’s last four matches (15 sets) to average 11 assists/set.
Up next: Elon returns home to Alumni Gym for a non-conference match against local opponent North Carolina A&T on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.