STATESBORO, Ga. – The Elon volleyball team struggled to match several Georgia Southern runs and suffered a sweep, 3-0 (17-25, 17-25, 18-25), on the road today in Hanner Fieldhouse. With the loss, Elon drops to 13-11 on the season and 5-3 in Southern Conference play while Georgia Southern improves to 15-7 (6-1 SoCon).

 

“We got beat by a very good Georgia Southern team this afternoon,” said Elon head volleyball coach Mary Tendler. “They’re very balanced offensively, which gave us trouble. We started off a little better today than we did yesterday, but we couldn’t sustain that through the entire match. We need to work hard this week on our blocking and our defense before we face The Citadel and College of Charleston next weekend.”

 

Juniors Caroline Lemke and Megan McMahon had strong performances on both sides of the ball against the Eagles. Lemke led the Phoenix with eight kills and recorded two total blocks. McMahon earned 25 assists and 11 digs, while also recording two blocks.

 

Seniors Lauren Copenhagen and Sarah Schermerhorn also contributed to the Phoenix offense with seven and five kills, respectively.

 

In the first set, the Eagles moved out to a 6-3 lead before the Phoenix moved scored three of the next four points to within one point at 7-6. With the score at a 9-7 Georgia Southern advantage, the Eagles reeled off four consecutive points to take a 13-7 lead. Elon closed its deficit to four points, but were not able to catch the Eagles as they took the 25-17 victory. Both Lemke and Copenhagen recorded four kills in the first set, while Lemke and McMahon each notched two block assists.

 

Georgia Southern moved out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set, but a kill by junior Traci Stewart moved the Phoenix to within two at 6-4. Schermerhorn trimmed Elon’s deficit to one point at 9-8 with a kill, while Copenhagen did the same again to move the score to 10-9, Eagles. Georgia Southern later moved ahead by as many as four points, but the Phoenix fought back and kept the Eagles’ advantage at only two points, 16-14. Elon was not able to counter a five-point GSU run that moved the Eagles ahead, 21-14, and eventually lost the set, 25-17.

 

The Phoenix once again found itself down early in the third set, 6-1. A kill by sophomore Celia Eddy would help close the gap to four points at 12-8. Later, with the score 17-9 in favor of GSU, Elon went on a three-point run capped by a kill from Lemke to shorten the Eagle lead to five, but the Phoenix was not able to take advantage and would drop the set by a 25-18 margin.

 

The Elon volleyball team will return home next weekend to play in the newly-renovated Alumni Gym. On Friday, Oct. 22 the Phoenix will face The Citadel for the first game back in Alumni Gym. The first 200 fans through the door will receive a free t-shirt. The match against College of Charleston on Saturday, Oct. 23 will mark the team’s fourth annual Dig Pink match in support of breast cancer awareness and research. All fans are encouraged to wear pink to Saturday’s match. Both contests are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.