ELON, N.C. – Caley Redden and Luciana Shafer each posted a double-double to lead the UNC Greensboro Spartans to a 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-8) victory over the Elon Phoenix in Southern Conference volleyball action on Wednesday night in Alumni Gym. Elon falls to 21-6 and 8-5 in league action while UNCG improves to 16-12 overall and 8-5 in the SoCon.
Shafer led the Spartans with a match-high 17 kills while also recording 12 digs. Redden posted 16 kills to go along with 14 digs while Billi Baker added 10 kills and five block assists. Catherine Hanners tallied 18 digs along with 20 assists and Kayleigh Knerr posted 16 digs. Kayren Finney tallied one solo block and assisted on eight blocks for UNCG.
Out of a 12-12 tie in the first set, UNC Greensboro used a 9-2 run behind the serve of Redden to take a seven-point lead at 21-14. Elon scored the next two points to cut the lead to five, but UNCG again pushed the lead to seven at 23-16. The Phoenix used a 5-1 run to cut the lead to just three at 24-21 but a kill from Redden closed the set and gave the Spartans at 25-21 win. In the set, UNCG posted a .412 hitting percentage with 16 kills and just two errors on 34 attempts.
In the second set, the teams traded points and were tied at 14 before Elon scored back-to-back points on kills from Schermerhorn and Copenhagen to take a two-point lead, 16-14. The Spartans outscored the Phoenix 3-1 to knot the game at 17. After a 19-19 tie, Elon took a two-point lead at 21-19 on an ace by Copenhagen. A block by UNCG's Finney and Baker cut the lead back to one at 22-21. But, Elon scored the final three points of the set on a kill by Stewart and back-to-back kills from Barrow to earn the set, 25-21. Elon committed just three errors in the set for a .343 hitting percentage.
After a 6-6 tie in the third set, Elon got consecutive kills from Schermerhorn to take an 8-6 edge. The Phoenix pushed its lead to three at 11-8, forcing the Spartans to use a timeout. Out of the huddle, the Spartans outscored Elon 5-2 to knot the game at 13-13. UNC Greensboro scored the next six points behind the serve of Hanners, including four aces, to go ahead 19-13. The Spartans would hold onto that advantage for the rest of the set and close the game 25-17 on a kill from Shafer.
Elon jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the fourth set before UNCG closed the gap to just one at 9-8. Holding onto a one-point advantage at 11-10, Elon scored the next three points to push the lead back to four at 14-10. The Spartans cut the lead back to two at 19-17 but the Phoenix outscored UNCG 6-2 and closed the set on a Schermerhorn kill to force a decisive fifth set.
The Spartans took a 5-1 lead early in the fifth set and never looked back. Elon cut the advantage to three at 6-3 but UNCG pushed the lead to six at 12-6. A kill from Barrow cut the score to 13-8, but the Spartans scored the final two points on a kill and a service ace by Shafer to take the match.
Elon returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 7 against Wofford in its final home match of the season. The match, scheduled for 2 p.m., and will serve as Elon's Senior Day. UNC Greensboro returns to action on Friday, Nov. 6 in a 7 p.m. home match against Furman.
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