Elon Volleyball Phoenix Falls to Delaware in Five Sets

ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball took a 2-1 match lead and was up 23-22 in set four, but Delaware hung around and won the fifth set as the Phoenix fell Sunday, Oct. 7, at Schar Center .

“There wasn’t much difference between our two teams today, but give credit to Delaware for coming up with some big plays at the end of those last two sets,” said head coach Mary Tendler. “Our outside hitters were able to mix up their shots and give us great production throughout the match. After playing so many matches in a row, having a full week of practice will be a nice change.”

Elon is now 8-9 overall and 0-6 in CAA play. Delaware moves to 7-11 and picks up its first conference win at 1-5.

THE RUNDOWN
The visitors jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage in the opening set, but Elon would eventually close the gap 20-19 as Natalie Cummins and Lead Daniel made a block. A kill from Daniel made it a 22-20 UD lead, but the Blue Hens scored the next three points for the 1-0 match lead.

A 5-0 run in set two, capped off by back-to-back kills by Daniel, allowed the maroon and gold to go up 11-7. Later, a block by Daniel and Alexa Pavlick made it a set point at 24-20. UD benefitted from consecutive Elon attack errors to make things interesting, but Kodi Garcia assisted Kam Terry to tie the match at 1-1.

Set three was close until an Elizabeth Coil score ignited a 5-0 surge, giving the Phoenix an 18-12 advantage. Both teams would trade points for the remainder of the set and Elon took a 2-1 match lead.

After playing catch up and tying the score at 15-all in set four, Elon had an opportunity to win its first league match at 23-22. Unfortunately, UD earned three straight points to stay alive and force a deciding fifth set.

Down 9-7 and coming out a timeout, Haylie Clark assisted Nori Thomas for the first of five unanswered points by the Phoenix. UD called a timeout of its own and knotted the score at 12-all. Daniel put Elon back on top 13-12, but the Blue Hens earned three points to get the match win.

HIGHLIGHTS.
Terry scored 22 kills and Daniel added a season-high 19 to lead Elon on offense. Daniel recorded a .421 hitting percentage and added two block assists. Terry (.300) posted another double-double with 14 digs and finished with an assist, an ace, and a pair of block assists. Garcia collected 33 assists and Clark followed with a season-best 24. On defense, four players reached double-digit digs, led by Maddie Jaudon with 28. Isabella Sema also recorded 14 digs and Clark reached 10 for her first career double-double. Eilzabeth Coil and Pavlick both registered three blocks.

NOTES
-It marks the third double-double for Terry in the past four matches and the sixth of the season.
-Terry now has 1,223 career kills and moves into seventh place on Elon’s career leaders list.
-Clark pushes her streak of double-digit assists to five matches.
-With eight kills on the day, Coil passed the 200 career kills mark.
-Jaudon now has more than 1,700 career digs.
-The Blue Hens now own a 7-3 lead in the all-time series.
-Today marked the fourth time the two programs have needed a fifth set. The teams are now 2-2 when going the distance.

UP NEXT.
The Phoenix have a week before their next match. Elon will travel to Williamsburg, Va. next Sunday, Oct. 14, for a 1 p.m. appointment with the Tribe.