Elon Volleyball Phoenix Falls in Heartbreaker to Tigers

TOWSON, Md. – After rallying to claim the fourth set to keep the match going, the Elon volleyball team fell in five sets, 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 12-25, 25-19, 21-23), at Towson, tonight, Oct. 3, in SECU Arena. The fifth set saw five set points for the Phoenix and three for the Tigers before Towson claimed the final point to win the match.

BOX SCORE

Sydney Busa led the Phoenix (15-5, 2-2) with 21 kills off 47 attempts and only two errors to hit .404 and also claimed a double-double with 17 digs. Kam Terry tallied another 12 kills for Elon, while Sydel Curry finished with a match-high 46 assists. The maroon and gold defense out-blocked Towson, 11-6, after five kills from both Michelle Klein and Elizabeth Coil.

The Tigers (15-3, 3-1) saw a match-high 25 kills from Jessica Lewis, who also tallied a double-double with 11 digs, followed by 14 and 11 kills from Jocelyn Kuilan and Candace Steadman, respectively. Marrisa Wonders had a double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs, while Anna Holehouse led all players with 27 digs.

How it Happened
Kills by Klein and Busa got Elon off to a hot 8-2 start in the first set, forcing an early Towson timeout. Still leading by six, 12-6, kills by Ebony Scott, Busa, Klein and Terry and a Klein ace extended the Phoenix advantage to nine, 19-10. The Tigers managed to close the gap to five, 21-16, before a Klein kill closed out the set for the maroon and gold, 25-18.

The second set saw six ties by the time the score reached seven-all before Towson took an 18-15 lead. Elon pulled within one, 18-17, but four straight by the Tigers forced the Phoenix to take its second timeout, 22-18. TU would hold on to win the set, 25-19, and even the match.

The Tigers came out strong out of the break, jumping out to a 10-0 advantage before blocks by Terry and Klein and a Busa kill tallied the first three Elon points. Towson maintained its lead, reaching set point, 24-9. The maroon and gold would not give up as kills by Terry and Busa and a block by Klein and Terry scored three straight and caused a TU timeout. The deficit was too much for the Phoenix to overcome as TU won, 25-12, to take a 2-1 match lead.

With Towson leading by two in the fourth set, 7-5, kills by Terry and Busa and blocks by Coil, Busa and Klein helped Elon to a 6-2 run to take an 11-9 edge. A kill and ace by Klein extended the advantage to four, 15-11, before back-to-back aces by Kayla Agae made it a six-point lead, 20-14. Kills by Scott and Busa kept the maroon and gold in front as Elon claimed a 25-19 victory to keep the match alive.

With the fifth set tied at six-all, Elon claimed the advantage to go up by two after a Busa kill. A Terry kill gave the Phoenix its first set point, 14-13, before the Tigers reached its first set point at 17-16. Another Terry kill made the set 21-all but Towson claimed the final two points to close out the set, 23-21, and the match.

Up Next
The Phoenix remains on the road to make its annual trip to the northeast to play Northeastern and Hofstra next weekend. Elon faces the Huskies in Boston on Friday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. before taking on the Pride in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 9, in Hempstead, N.Y.