UVA Outlasts Elon Volleyball, 3-2

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Elon University volleyball was able to force a fifth set against Virginia, but the hosts held on for a 3-2 final Saturday morning, Sept. 21 in Memorial Gymnasium as the maroon and gold wrapped up the Jefferson Cup.

BOX SCORE | FINAL RESULTS

“We played so well this morning in the first four sets,” said head coach Mary Tendler. “We just kept fighting for every point. We had our best blocking match of the season, which was huge. Unfortunately, we couldn’t slow Virginia down in that final set. Can’t wait to start CAA play at home on Friday night in Schar Center.”

With the loss, the Phoenix drops to 5-8 on the season.

Virginia 3, Elon 2 | 23-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-22, 4-15
THE RUNDOWN
In the opening set, three-straight kills by Nori Thomas helped the Phoenix take an early 4-1 lead. The first set of the match featured 11 ties and only two lead changes in what was a close affair from start to finish. Even at 16-16, the Cavaliers (7-5) put together a 3-0 stretch and never looked back. Down 24-21, a bad set by UVA and a kill from Leah Daniel made it a one-point difference, but the Hoos secured the set point for the 1-0 advantage.

Elon got off to a hot start in the next set as the maroon and gold erupted for an early 9-1 lead. UVA came back to knot the score at 16-16 and later went up 24-23. However, a Jenn Krzeminski kill and a pair of errors by the orange and blue allowed the Phoenix to tie the match at a set apiece.

An early 6-0 push by the Hoos proved to be the difference in Set Three. Kodi Garcia assisted Thomas to get to within 15-12, but the home team earned a 25-19 decision to retake the match lead, 2-1. Elon scored four unanswered to wrestle away control late in Set Four. A 25-22 result again pulled the Phoenix even as the match went to the decisive set.

There was little Elon could do to slow the UVA offense in Set Five as a pair of 5-0 runs helped the Cavaliers jump ahead 10-1. The Phoenix couldn’t come up with a response, and the hosts held on for the 3-2 result.

HIGHLIGHTS
Daniel again led both teams with a match-high 19 kills. The sophomore hit .289 in the match and added eight digs with five blocks. Kellyn Trowse was right behind Daniel with 18 kills (.273) and finished with nine digs, three blocks, and a service ace. Thomas also reached double-digit kills with 11, Garcia contributed 25 assists and 11 digs, and Haylie Clark turned in 23 assists. Jordan Gower posted her third-straight double-digit dig performance with 13, and Krzeminski tied her season high with eight blocks.

NOTES
-Daniel’s eight digs and five blocks are both career highs.
-Garcia now has 2,375 career assists. The Tomball, Texas native needs seven more to move past Sydel Curry (2014-16) for eighth place on the program’s career leaders list.
-Elon was looking for its second win over a Power-5 opponent and second win against a member of the ACC this week. The Phoenix earned a 3-2 win over Wake Forest last Sunday, Sept. 15.
-UVA improves to 2-0 in the all-time series. The Hoos defeated the Phoenix 3-1 in a neutral-site match on Oct. 10, 1981.
-Today marked the sixth time this season a match has gone the distance.

UP NEXT
Elon begins conference play next weekend as the Phoenix hosts Hofstra on Friday, Sept. 27 and Northeastern on Sunday, Sept. 29. First serve against the Pride is scheduled for 8 p.m., while Sunday’s meeting with the Huskies is set for a noon start.