ELON, N.C. - The Phoenix volleyball team won games one and four of Friday night's match versus College of Charleston to force a fifth and deciding game, but eventually fell 3-2 (27-30, 30-28, 30-26, 21-30, 15-12) to the Cougars in Alumni Gym.  CofC improves to 16-6 (10-1 SoCon), while Elon drops to 13-12 (7-4 SoCon) on the season.

Senior Britany Westphal commanded the Phoenix offense, tallying a career-high 29 kills and hitting .393 in the five-game set.  Classmate Emily Lucci posted her ninth double-double of the season, logging 14 kills and 17 digs, while junior Jessica Barrow also recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs.  Freshmen Lauren Copenhagen and Sarah Schermerhorn each tallied seven block assists, marking a season-high for Copenhagen who also had a solo block on the night.

The Phoenix jumped out to an early 6-1 lead on the Cougars in game one and maintained at least a two-point advantage through the entire stanza.  Westphal tallied 10 kills to lead Elon, as the Phoenix took an early 1-0 match-advantage over College of Charleston.

CofC rebounded in games two and three, forcing crucial errors by the Phoenix and holding Elon to a .051 and .064 team hitting percentages in each frame.  Elon's defense tallied with six blocks over the two games, but the Phoenix offense was shut down by the Cougars. 

Elon rallied in game four, dominating CofC on both sides of the ball with four blocks, 17 kills and a .405 hitting percentage.  Barrow posted six kills and hit .500 to lead the Phoenix, as Elon forced game five.

The Cougars were overpowering in the deciding game, as Tiffany Blum posted four kills (.600) and a block assist to lead CofC to a 3-2 win.

Deanna Patrick tallied 22 kills for College of Charleston, while Bum added 15.  The Cougars logged 10 team blocks to Elon's 14.

Senior Natalie Moore dished out 56 assists for the Phoenix, while juniors Kelley Blakewood and Shelley MacBean added 15 and 10 digs, respectively.

Elon will return to action Saturday afternoon, taking on The Citadel in a 2 p.m. match in Alumni Gym.