Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The last time the Elon University volleyball team had won a match against Furman was Sept. 24, 2004. That six-year Paladin streak ended tonight as the Phoenix registered a 3-2 win (16-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 15-9) at home in Jordan Gym.

Elon wrapped up a two-match winning home stand with a current season record of 13-9 (5-1 Southern Conference), while Furman drops to 9-8 (3-2 SoCon).

“This was a historic win for us since we haven’t beaten Furman since 2004, and to win it in the fifth set makes it even more special,” said Elon head volleyball coach Mary Tendler. “We didn’t have much energy in the first set, just like last night, but we picked it up after that and stayed steady for the rest of the match. I thought both of our middles played great tonight. They were able to find holes in the Furman defense and get a lot of touches on their blocks. Hopefully this gives us momentum going into our road trip next weekend.”

With the help of junior Megan McMahon, who recorded 51 assists, junior Caroline Lemke led the Phoenix with 19 kills. Senior Sarah Schermerhorn finished with a .333 attack percentage with a total of 13 kills and just three errors, as well as recording seven total blocks. Senior Lauren Copenhagen and sophomore Allison Johnson also came up big for the Elon attack with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

On the defensive side, senior defensive specialist Lizzie West recorded 17 digs, while McMahon tallied 16 and sophomore Ali Deatsch finished the night with 11. Junior Traci Stewart also contributed to the Phoenix defense with six blocks.

In the first set, the Paladins ran off to an 11-6 lead, and despite a few rallies by the Phoenix, Furman took the set, 25-16. The second set started off tight with the score reaching a tie five times by the time it was nine-all. Furman then grabbed the momentum and moved to a 13-10 advantage, but Elon came back with a kill by Schermerhorn to bring the set back to a tie at 15-all. With Furman holding a 19-17 lead, the Phoenix went on a five-point run to take their first big lead of the night, 22-19. Elon would go on to win the last three points and the set on Furman error, 25-21, and tie the match at 1-1.

After going to a 10-all tie in the third set, the Phoenix grabbed a two-point lead, 13-11. But the Paladins scored the next five points and maintained no less than a two-point lead the rest of the set to win 25-21 and take a 2-1 match lead.

After jumping out to a five-point edge early, Elon saw its lead evaporate as a 7-3 run by Furman forced Tendler to call a timeout. After the short break, Elon jumped back out to a three-point lead on a kill from Copenhagen. The lead remained with the Phoenix until the Paladins tied the set at 20-all. With the score at 24-23 Phoenix, Elon was determined to not let Furman walk away with another victory in the all-time series. A kill by Schermerhorn won the set for the Phoenix, 25-23, and sent the game into a deciding fifth set.

After Elon jumped out to a 6-3 lead, Furman came back to tie the set at seven-all with a 4-1 run. But on the serve of Schermerhorn, the Phoenix scored four-straight points off two kills each by Copenhagen and Lemke to claim an 11-7 edge. After two more kills from Copenhagen moved the score to 13-8, the Phoenix knew it was on the verge of breaking the Paladins’ winning streak. A kill from Stewart sealed the deal with a 15-9 set win and a 3-2 match victory. Elon held Furman to only a .083 team attack percentage in the fifth set, while the Phoenix hit .370 as a team in the final set.

Elon will spend the next two matches on the road as the team travels to Davidson on Oct. 16 and Georgia Southern on Oct. 17. Both matches will begin at 2 p.m.