Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a match full of offense, the Elon volleyball team took advantage of strong hitting to earn a sweep at Wofford (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) today, Oct. 21. The Phoenix finished with a .377 hitting percentage compared to .272 from the Terriers. Elon improves to 16-9 on the season (4-5 SoCon), while Wofford falls to 13-12 (2-7 SoCon).
 
“Our offense looked really good tonight,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “Megan (McMahon) and Nickie (Halbert) made some great decisions to isolate our hitters. We also had our best passing night of the year. Our passers stepped up against some very tough Wofford serves.”
 
Freshman Kris Harris was dominate at the net, recording 12 kills off 18 attempts with no errors to hit .667. Freshman Danielle Smith matched her career high of 11 kills, while freshman Chanelle Smith finished with eight kills. Seniors Megan McMahon and Nickie Halbert split the passing duties with 28 and 12 assists, respectively.
 
Junior Ali Deatsch led the defense with 12 digs while senior Caroline Lemke tallied three blocks.
 
In the first set, a kill by D. Smith stopped a 4-0 start by Wofford. The Phoenix eventually tied the set at eight-all off an ace by Halbert, while a block by Lemke gave Elon its first lead of the set, 9-8. With the maroon and gold still holding a one-point advantage, 12-11, the Phoenix put together a 7-2 run, which included kills from sophomore Cali Estes, D. Smith, C. Smith and senior Traci Stewart and an ace by Deatsch, to make it 19-13. Two kills by Lemke helped extend the Elon lead to seven, 22-15, and the Phoenix would gp on to win the set, 25-19.
 
Elon started the second set with a 7-3 lead off kills by D. Smith and Lemke and a block by Harris. Up by one, 8-7, the Phoenix went on an 11-1 run off kills by Harris and Lemke, an ace by Deatsch and a block by Lemke and Estes for a 10-point lead, 19-9. Harris would end the set with a kill to give Elon a 25-17 win and a 2-0 match lead heading into the break.
 
After a kill by Estes put the Phoenix up by five, 12-7, the Terriers scored four straight to pull within one, 12-11, forcing Elon to call a timeout. A kill by D. Smith stopped the Wofford run and helped Elon start a 4-1 strech, capped by a kill by Stewart, to take a 17-12 advantage. From there, Wofford managed to score six unanswered to take an 18-17 lead. With the score still in favor of the Terriers, 22-21, the Phoenix used two kills from D. Smith and one by Harris to finish the match on a 4-0 run for a 25-22 win.
 
Elon will play tomorrow, Oct. 22, at Furman in Greenville, S.C. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.