Elon Volleyball Travels to Charleston for Bulldog Invitational

ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team keeps its winning streak, which stands at seven straight, on the road this weekend as the team is set to play in the Bulldog Invitational in Charleston, S.C., on Friday, Sept. 16 – Saturday, Sept. 17. The Phoenix (10-2) plays Savannah State (0-12) and host The Citadel (4-7) on Sept. 16 at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, before playing Austin Peay (5-6) at 9 a.m. and Charleston Southern (4-8) at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 17.

A Look at the Phoenix
Elon continued its winning streak, claiming its seventh straight victory with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-9) final at North Carolina Central on Tuesday in Durham, N.C. The Phoenix was led by 10 kills from Kam Terry followed by seven kills off 10 attempts and no errors from Sydney Busa as she hit .700. Ally Karle recorded six kills off eight attempts and no errors to hit .750, while Sydel Curry tallied 21 assists to help the Phoenix hit .344 overall. On defense, Elon had nine total blocks with five from Karle and three by Michelle Klein. Maddie Jaudon matched a three-set career high with 19 digs (6.33/set) followed by eight each from Busa and Terry.

Scouting the Tigers
Savannah State is still in search of its first win of the season with a current 0-12 mark. The Tigers have claimed a set in each of its last two matches, falling 3-1 to both Troy and Charleston Southern, while also taking a set over Georgia Southern earlier this season. Dominique Ingram has a team-high 78 kills this year to average 2.00 kills per set and is hitting .226. Caitlynn Masoe follows with 67 kills, owns an impressive 18 aces and has tallied 93 assists, while Alee Quint leads the team with 183 assists and Alexis Washington has 128 digs for 3.28/set.

Elon vs. Savannah State
The only previous meeting between the Phoenix and the Tigers came just last year in the Popcorn Classic in Valparaiso, Ind. Elon won the match, 3-0, after a team-high seven kills from Sydney Busa and a match-high seven blocks by Michelle Klein.

Scouting the Bulldogs
The Citadel holds a 4-7 mark on the year looking to snap a five-match losing skid after starting the season 5-2. The Bulldogs lead the nation in total attacks, rank third in team digs and 10th in team assists. Moriah Smith, who earned Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 5, is one of the top offensive players in the country, ranking first in total attacks, third in total kills (211), sixth in attacks per set and 13th in kills per set (4.69). Logan Smith averages 8.29 assists per set, leading the SoCon in assists, and Samantha Espy tallies 4.51 digs/set to rank 12th nationally and first in the SoCon.

Elon vs. The Citadel
The two programs have met a total of 15 times previously with the Phoenix winning all 15 matches. After the first match in 2000, the teams met regularly from 2003-13 while Elon was a member of the Southern Conference. The maroon and gold claimed a 3-0 final in the last meeting on Oct. 11, 2013, in Alumni Gym after 10 kills from Kayla Agae and another eight from Ally Karle. Earlier that season on Sept. 28, the Bulldogs took the Phoenix to five sets in Charleston as Elon went on to take the win, 3-2.

Scouting the Governors
A five-set loss to Saint Louis on Tuesday night dropped Austin Peay to 5-6 on the year. The Governors went 2-1 last weekend in the Dunn Hospitality Tournament with wins over Evansville and Kent State and a loss to Dayton. Ashley Slay leads the team with 103 kills on the year to average 2.78 kills per set followed by 70 and 73 kills from Kaylee Taff and Sammie Ebright, respectively. Kristen Stucker is averaging 9.75 assists per set, while Slay is leading on defense with 40 total blocks to post 1.08 blocks/set.

Elon vs. Austin Peay
The only previous meeting between the Phoenix and the Lady Govs came on Sept. 10, 2011, in the Butler Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. Elon won the tight match, 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 27-29, 28-26), with two of the sets going on to extra points and another with just a two-point differential.

Scouting the Buccaneers
Charleston Southern is 4-8 so far this season after a 3-1 win at Savannah State on Tuesday. Rookie Brooke Monssen leads the Bucs with 128 kills to average 2.72 kills per set followed by 115 kills from Addison Kaderli. Madison Martin has tallied 14 aces this year with another 12 from Taylor Allman for the team to rank 20th in the nation in team aces. Martin also averages 4.49 digs per set as the Bucs are 12th nationally in team digs. CSU is also 16th in the NCAA in team blocks as Kylie Klein has posted a team-high 52 total blocks.

Elon vs. Charleston Southern
Saturday marks the 14th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Bucs with Elon holding the slight 7-6 advantage in the series. After winning the previous two matches with a 3-1 final in 2007 and 2010, CSU claimed 3-1 win on Sept. 4 of last year in the Elon Phoenix Classic in Alumni Gym.

Defensive Player of the Week…Again
For the second straight week, an Elon volleyball player was honored as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week. On Sept. 12 the CAA announced that Michelle Klein had earned the weekly honor for the first time in her career. Klein led the Phoenix defense to a 5-0 week last week after recording 28 total blocks to average 1.65 blocks per set as the team extended its winnings streak to six matches. The junior tallied no less than 1.00 blocks per set in all five matches last week, helping the team to 3.16 blocks/set, while also posting 30 kills to hit .295. She recorded five blocks against both Davidson (1.25/set) and Norfolk State (1.66/set) before six blocks against Wofford (1.2/set) to go along with 10 kills off 17 attempts and only one error to hit .529. Klein added three more blocks in one set against Delaware State (3.0/set) before recording a new career-high nine blocks against Gardner-Webb (2.25/set). The Lake Worth, Fla., native was named to the Elon Phoenix Classic all-tournament team after leading the defense to a 4-0 mark in the tournament.

Phoenix Rankings
As of Sept. 12, the Phoenix is ranking high in several categories in the conference and in the nation. Nationally, Elon is third in total attacks, fourth in total blocks, 10th in both team kills and digs and 13th in assists, ranking first in the CAA in all those categories. Individually, Sydel Curry is second in the league and is 48th in the NCAA with 10.56 assists/set. Kayla Agae is 43rd nationally in total aces (16), while Kam Terry is 27th in the nation and first in the league in total kills (152) and third in the CAA in kills per set (3.68). Ally Karle ranks seventh in the NCAA and first in the CAA in total blocks (54) and also leads the conference with 1.40 blocks/set. In the CAA, Maddie Jaudon is fifth in digs per set (4.60) and Michelle Klein is seventh in hitting with a .330 percentage.

Head Coach Mary Tendler

Elon head coach Mary Tendler is in her 14th season with the Phoenix program. She enters this weekend’s tournament with a 208-226 Elon and career coaching record. Tendler earned her 200th career victory on Aug. 30 with the maroon and gold’s win over North Carolina A&T.

Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix throughout the season with updates on elonphoenix.com. Live stats for every volleyball match will be available on the team’s schedule and home pages on the Elon athletic website. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores.

Looking Ahead
The Phoenix opens Colonial Athletic Association play next weekend when its hosts James Madison and William & Mary in Alumni Gym. The Dukes visit on Friday, Sept. 23, for a 7 p.m. match before the weekend concludes against the Tribe on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 2 p.m.