Elon Volleyball Drops Match at UNCG

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team dropped a tough match tonight, Oct. 7, at former conference rival UNCG, 3-0 (23-25, 13-25, 19-25), in Flemming Gym. The Spartans improve to 10-7 on the season, while Elon falls to 5-15.

“We had a great start to the match both offensively and defensively,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t pull out that first set. After that, UNCG grabbed the momentum and we didn’t push back until later in the third set. I thought Sydney (Busa) had a great match and she’s been playing really well. Michelle (Klein) and Sydel (Curry) played well coming off the bench and made a difference in the match.”

Elon’s defense continued its strong play at the net, out-blocking the Spartans, 7-6. Catherine Head finished with a match-high four blocks along with two blocks from each Kris Harris, Sydney Busa and Ally Karle. Busa led the Phoenix on the offensive side of the ball with 10 kills and fell just short of the double-double with eight digs, while Megan Gravley tallied six kills in the match.

Elon got off to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set off a kill by Gravley and a kill and solo block from Head. The Spartans evened the score, four-all, before a block by Karle and Head put the Phoenix back with a four-point edge, 9-5. Blocks by Karle and Harris and Head and Busa kept the maroon and gold ahead with its largest lead of five, 15-10. UNCG rallied to take a one-point advantage, 20-19. The score would see four ties and two lead changes before the Spartans claimed the set, 25-23.

In the second set, UNCG got out to a quick 7-2 lead, forcing an early Phoenix timeout. Elon was not able to stop the Spartans and overcome the deficit as UNCG took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-13 win.

The third set saw 13 ties by the time the score reached 14-all. UNCG took the next two points for the first lead over two points, 16-14, since the Phoenix led 3-1. A kill by Busa helped tie the set, 16-all, once again before UNCG regained the lead, 18-16. UNCG managed a 7-3 run to close out the set, 25-19, and claim the match.

The Phoenix plays its first home match in almost two weeks in its next match on Saturday, Oct. 11, when it hosts CAA opponent UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.