RADFORD, Va. – The Elon University volleyball team rebounded from a tough loss last Saturday to sweep Radford on the road tonight, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22). Senior Sarah Schermerhorn recorded 13 kills on 19 attempts and no errors to hit an impressive .684 on the night. Elon improved to 15-12 on the season, while Radford dropped to 8-17.

 

“We had a solid match form start to finish against a very good Radford team,” said Elon head volleyball coach Mary Tendler. “I was especially pleased with our discipline on our blocking assignments and defensive positioning. I think this is an effort we can take forward into this weekend against Chattanooga and Samford.”

 

Senior Lauren Copenhagen and juniors Caroline Lemke and Traci Stewart all earned nine kills in the match. Junior Megan McMahon tallied 40 assists on the night, while also recording two kills.

 

Schermerhorn and Lemke each earned three total blocks to lead the defensive attack to seven team blocks. Stewart recorded 15 digs, while sophomore Ali Deatsch earned 13 digs.

 

Elon jumped out to a 5-2 first-set lead thanks to a kill from Schermerhorn before the Highlanders rallied to pull within one at 5-4. After another kill from Schermerhorn, Radford found itself down 9-5 forcing the Highlanders to call a timeout. With the score at a 16-12 in favor of the Phoenix, Elon went on a four-point run that moved the differential to eight points. Radford was never able to rally and Elon went on to win the set by nine, 25-16.

 

Radford jumped out to the early 3-1 lead in the second set before the Phoenix tied the set at three-all. The score would then become tied at every other point until Elon took its first led of the set at 11-10. With the Phoenix up 17-14, the Highlanders mounted a three-point rally that pulled the set even at 17-all. Elon would take the next point off a Radford error and did not allow the Highlanders to pull close the rest of the set. The Phoenix went into the break up 2-0 after winning the second set, 25-21.

 

The third set began with a 7-3 Phoenix run, capped by Schermerhorn’s 10^th kill of the match. With the score at a 10-6 Elon advantage, the Highlanders went on a four-point run to tie the set at 10-all, forcing Tendler to call a timeout. The Phoenix came back to win the next point but the Highlanders fought hard and continued to trade points with Elon until the score reached a 24-22 Phoenix advantage. Stewart took advantage of a great set from McMahon and slammed home the kill that gave Elon the 25-22 third set win and the sweep.

 

Elon will remain on the road this weekend and travel to Chattanooga on Saturday, Oct. 30 to take on the Mocs at 6 p.m. The road trip will continue to Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday, Oct. 31 to face Samford at 3 p.m.