Elon Volleyball Phoenix Top Lady Eagles in Straight Sets Wednesday

DURHAM, N.C. – Madi Genaway recorded her second double-double of the season as Elon University volleyball earned a straight-set victory over N.C. Central Wednesday evening at McDougald-McLendon Arena.

RESULTS

“We had lots of players contribute in positive ways tonight,” said head coach Mary Tendler. “Our ball control was consistent which allowed our offense to be very efficient. Both setters made good decisions and our hitters were aggressive. We look forward to playing at home on Friday night.”

With the win, the Phoenix move back over the .500 mark to 10-9 overall while the Lady Eagles drop to 4-15.

THE RUNDOWN
Ahead 4-3 in the opening set, Elon used a 5-0 run to create some separation and force an NCCU timeout. Three straight points allowed the home team to close the gap at 19-16, but the maroon and gold took the first match point with a 25-18 decision.

The Phoenix had another quick start in set two as an Isabella Seman service ace capped off a 6-1 run, but the Lady Eagles responded with a 7-1 run of their own to tie the score at 10-all. Elon regained control with six unanswered and earned another 25-18 final for the 2-0 match lead.

In set three, back-to-back blocks by Natalie Cummins and Leah Daniel helped the Phoenix establish a 7-1 advantage. Three kills by NCCU’s Christine Alcox cut Elon’s lead to 13-10, but another three aces from Seman ignited a 6-0 spurt and Elon cruised to a 25-15 tally to seal the match.

HIGHLIGHTS
Genaway finished with a team-high 10 kills and as many digs. Kellyn Trowse followed with seven kills, Kodi Garcia contributed 25 assists, and Seman served six aces with 14 digs. Cummins registered three blocks, followed by Daniel and Alexa Pavlick with two each. Haylie Clark chipped in 14 assists with three kills, two aces, and two digs.

NOTES
-Elon now leads NCCU 26-5 in the all-time series and has won 20 matches in a row.
-The Phoenix have defeated the Lady Eagles in straight sets 17 times.
-Elon hit .304 as a team, its second-best hitting percentage this season. The team hit .321 in a 3-1 win over Evansville on Aug. 31 in the first match of the Phoenix Classic.
-As a team, Elon held the advantage in kills (45-29), attacks (102-92), assists (45-27), aces (11-1), digs (48-36), and points (61-36).
-The match featured just two ties and Elon never surrendered the lead.
-Seman served six aces for the second consecutive match.

UP NEXT
Elon is back at Schar Center this Friday, Oct. 19, to host UNCW in a 7:30 p.m. conference match. It marks the first time this season that the Phoenix and Seahawks will play each other after Hurricane Florence postponed a scheduled match for Sept. 23.