ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team completed a Southern Conference sweep as it routed the Davidson Wildcats 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in Alumni Gym. Traci Stewart led the team with 11 kills, while Caroline Lemke added 10. The duo combined for just six errors to hit .500 and .375, respectively.
With the win, the Phoenix improved to 17-4 overall and 5-3 in league play. Davidson dropped to 4-20 on the season and 1-7 in the SoCon.
Emily Regan paced the Phoenix offense with 38 assists and added four kills in the win. She was also in on one block. Sarah Schermerhorn and Jessica Barrow each tallied eight kills. Lemke led the match with four block assists, while Lauren Copenhagen, Schermerhorn and Stewart registered three assisted blocks each. Carly Ledbetter recorded Elon’s only solo block.
Davidson’s Sarabeth Peele led all players with 12 kills, while Jorden Benedict finished second on the team with 11. Defensively, sisters Madison and Jorden Benedict led the Wildcats with one solo and one assisted block each.
Set one saw the teams tie 10 times before Davidson took a two-point lead at 12-10. The Wildcats maintained a slight advantage until the Phoenix scored five-straight points that brought the score to 17-14. Davidson answered with a 5-0 run of its own to retake the lead at 19-17 before Elon scored three consecutive points to make it a 20-19 set. The score tied one more time before the Phoenix tallied the final four points to take set one 25-21.
After Elon took an early 4-2 lead, Davidson brought the set to within one at 6-5. A pair of kills by Schermerhorn and Barrow extended the Elon lead to 8-5. The teams traded points on four possessions before a Stewart kill sparked a three-point run by the Phoenix that made it a 15-10 set. The Wildcats fought to make it a six-point set at 24-16, but a kill by Schermerhorn allowed Elon the 25-18 win.
Davidson raced out to an early 6-2 lead in the third and final set of the afternoon that forced the Phoenix to burn an early timeout. Elon pulled to within two at 12-10 following a kill by Lemke and a block by Stewart and Lemke. The Wildcats put together a four-point run that made it a 16-10 set and caused Elon to use its last timeout. A Davidson service error sparked a six-point Phoenix run that allowed Elon to take a 22-21 lead. The teams tied four times over the next seven possessions, but a kill by Copenhagen and a block by Schermerhorn and Copenhagen sealed the come-from-behind win 27-25.
Elon will return to the court Tuesday, October 20 at 7 p.m., when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on the Rams of Winston-Salem State. Full coverage of the match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
- ELON -
