CULLOWHEE, N.C.– Three Elon players recorded double-doubles to lead the Phoenix to a 3-2 (30-21, 22-30, 32-34, 30-18, 15-11)win over the Catamounts of Western Carolina Saturday night in Southern Conference volleyball action in historic Reid Gym.
Emily Lucci posted a match-high 20 kills and recorded 11 digs while Brittany Westphal finished with 19 kills and 10 digs for another Phoenix double-double. Senior Kate Hart dished out 65 assists and tallied 10 digs to record her first double-double of the season.
Juliena Gigon recorded 17 kills and Ashley Ruckert notched 13 kills for Elon while Shelley MacBean led the Phoenix defense with 16 digs. Hart and Lucci each posted three service aces and Lucci recorded two solo blocks and four block assists on the night.
Western Carolina also had three players post double-double performances. Heather Koontz tallied a team-high 15 kills and added 10 digs and three block assists in the losing effort. Ellie Talbot killed a dozen while recording a match-high 25 digs and Meghan Boyle rounded out the double-double trio with 45 set assists and 12 digs, also adding three block assists.
Elon (5-14, 3-4 SoCon) grabbed the early advantage, taking game one by a count of 30-21, out hitting the Catamounts .333-to-.053. As the two teams traded ends of the court, fortunes did not seem to swap as it was Western hitting over .300 in the second game while the Phoenix were saddled with nine attack errors. The Cats evened things up at one game apiece with the 30-22 tally.
After the break, WCU (5-16, 4-5 SoCon) appeared to be in control of game three before the Phoenix rose to the occasion, rallying from three-point, 9-6, deficit to score the next nine points in the match to take a 15-9 lead. Western managed to chip away at the lead, but never could manage it below a four-point cushion which Elon enjoyed the majority of the set. Facing game point, at 29-24, Western rattled off five-consecutive points behind the serve of Krista Neumann to tie the game at 29 apiece. The seesaw battle continued past regulation, with the Catamounts squeezing out the win on back-to-back Talbot kills.
Coming off the emotional win in the third frame, offensive woes reemerged in game four as Western only managed nine kills while committing eight errors for a dismal, .032, attack percentage. Conversely, Elon killed 17 with just five errors (.308) to even the match and force the decisive game five.
In the fifth, the Catamounts fell behind 7-3 before mounting consecutive points pulled them within two, 7-5. Elon responded with a trifecta of its own to pull ahead by five, 10-5. Western would again close to within two on a Neumann kill, 11-9, but the Phoenix scored four of the final six points for the 15-11 game five and match win.
As a team, Western out blocked the Phoenix, 11-to-9, but Elon out hit the Catamounts overall, .262-to-.199.
The Catamounts return to action on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against the UNC Greensboro Spartans. Elon travels to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 5:00 pm.
-ELON- Match Box Score
