Elon Volleyball Claims 3-0 Victory Over William & Mary

ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team earned its first Colonial Athletic Association sweep of the season after a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-20) win over William & Mary tonight, Oct. 28, in Alumni Gym.

The Phoenix (6-19, 2-9) saw a team-high 12 kills and two aces from Kam Terry, while Sydney Busa fell just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs. Sydel Curry tallied 30 assists and eight digs and also finished with three kills off five attempts and had no errors.

On defense, Elon out-blocked W&M, 5-2, with the help of four blocks from Michelle Klein, while Kayla Agae led the way with 13 digs.

“We started the match out strong and had a great comeback in the third set,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “It was nice to see so many players contribute to the victory tonight. We look forward to going back on the road and putting forth another great effort against Delaware on Saturday.”

The Tribe (8-16, 2-9) claimed a double-double off a match-high 13 kills and 12 digs from Dessi Koleva, while Sara Zumbach recorded 17 digs.

How it happened: With Elon leading the first set, 9-8, the Phoenix used four straight kills to move ahead by five, 13-8. A kill by Catherine Head later sparked a 4-0 run that also included kills by Ebony Scott and Klein to take a 19-10 advantage over the Tribe. W&M responded to pull within one, 19-18, before a block by Klein and Agae put the maroon and gold back up by three, 21-18. A Busa kill closed out the set in favor of the Phoenix with a 25-22 final.

The Phoenix held a two-point edge, 10-8, in the second set before kills by Busa and Terry, a Maddie Jaudon ace and several Tribe errors helped Elon to a 7-1 run to move ahead by eight, 17-9. After W&M closed the gap to five, 20-15, the maroon and gold responded with a block by Klein and Busa and two Klein kills to claim the set, 25-16, and take a 2-0 match lead.

The Tribe came out strong to start the third set, grabbing an 11-5 lead and forcing Elon to call its second timeout. The Phoenix fought back to even the score at 17-all with the help of kills by Busa, Agae, Terry and Head. With the set tied at 19-all, Elon moved ahead to take the lead as a kill by Terry and an Agae ace finished the set on a 6-1 run and gave the Phoenix a 25-20 win for the sweep.

Notes: Elon has now won three straight over William & Mary dating back to last season…The overall series between the Tribe and the Phoenix is even at four matches each…The 3-0 win marked Elon’s first sweep in its CAA history…The Phoenix out-blocked its opponent for the 14th time this season.

Up next: Elon travels to Newark, Del, this weekend to take on the Blue Hens of Delaware on Saturday, Oct. 31, in a 7 p.m. match.