BOONE, N.C. – The Elon University volleyball team came back from as many as seven points in the second set to earn a hard-fought sweep over No. 4 South seeded Davidson, 3-0 (25-22, 29-27, 28-26), in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. Elon, the No. 1 North seed, was led by a strong offensive attack that included 50 assists from junior Megan McMahon and 15 kills by senior Sarah Schermerhorn. The win marked Elon’s first victory in the tournament since 2006 and only the second in its SoCon history.

“We got what we expected out of Davidson today,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “They played this match just like they did when we played them at their place earlier this season. We struggled stopping their offensive attack and they struggled stopping our hitters. Davidson played a great match and I was proud of our players for how they stayed focused in the tight sets and made crucial plays at the right time to pull out the victory.”

Schermerhorn’s 15 kills led all players and earned her a .462 attack percentage. Sophomore Allison Johnson, senior Lauren Copenhagen and junior Traci Stewart all contributed with double-digit kills of their own, while senior Lizzie West registered two service aces in the match.

Sophomore Ali Deatsch led the defensive side of the ball with 15 digs, while Stewart and McMahon added 11 and eight digs, respectively. Junior Caroline Lemke earned three blocks assists to help the Phoenix out block the Wildcats 5-3.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first set, but a 6-3 run by the Phoenix, which included three kills by Schermerhorn, tied the score at seven-all. After the tie, Davidson retained the lead by as many as three points at 15-12, but a kill by Stewart tied the set at 18-all. From there, Elon was able to take its first lead of the match at 19-18 and scored six of the final 10 points to win the first set 25-22. Schermerhorn earned six kills on seven attempts with no errors to hit .857 in the set and earn over 1,000 kills for her career.

The second set started off tight with five lead changes and seven ties by the time the score reached seven-all. With the score tied at nine-all, the Wildcats mounted a 10-3 run that moved Davidson up 19-12. A quick three-point Phoenix run closed the Wildcat lead to four points at 19-15 and forced Davidson to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Elon continued its surge going on a 7-3 run to tie the set at 22-all. A kill by Copenhagen gave the Phoenix a 23-22 advantage, its first lead since the score was 6-5. The remainder of the set went back and forth with five ties before two-straight kills by Johnson and Stewart gave the Phoenix the 29-27 win and the 2-0 match lead.

After the break, the Phoenix jumped out a 3-0 lead in the third set off the service of McMahon. The Wildcats then rallied off a 6-2 run to take the lead, 6-5. Davidson continued to hold its lead throughout the majority of the set with the Phoenix pulling within one and two points constantly. Down 21-20 late, the Phoenix finally managed to even the set at 21-all off a kill by Stewart. After Davidson called a timeout with the score at 23-all, the score became tied at every other point until kills by Johnson and Copenhagen gave the Phoenix the 28-26 third set win and the match sweep.

Elon will face the winner of the No. 2 South seed Georgia Southern/ No. 3 North seed Appalachian State match tomorrow, Nov. 20, at 4:30 p.m. in Boone, N.C. The Phoenix is in search of its first birth in the SoCon Tournament championship match, which will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 21.