Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team played strong defense against a high-powered Samford team but was not able to bring the offense to match it as the Phoenix fell 3-0 (14-25, 14-25, 20-25) inside Alumni Gym. The Bulldogs improve to 24-3 (11-2 SoCon) on the season, while Elon is now 16-13 (4-9 SoCon).
 
“Samford has a lot of weapons offensively and I thought our block did a really good job of controlling their hitters,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “Our defense picked up as the match went along. Hopefully we can create some more offense tomorrow.”
 
Freshman Danielle Smith led Elon on offense with six kills. Elon out blocked Samford, 9-8, with five blocks from senior Caroline Lemke and three from junior Celia Rose Eddy.
 
The first set started in favor of the Bulldogs, 3-1, before the Phoenix earned three of the next four points off two kills by D. Smith and one by C. Lemke to tie the score at four-all. Down by four, 13-9, a block by freshman Kris Harris and senior Traci Stewart cut the deficit to three, but Samford used a 7-2 run to pull away with a 20-12 advantage. The Bulldogs went on to win the set, 25-14, for the early match lead.
 
Kills by junior Carly Ledbetter and D. Smith and a block by Lemke and sophomore Cali Estes kept the maroon and gold tied with the Bulldogs at six in the second set. From there Samford scored four straight to take a 10-6 lead, forcing Elon to call a timeout. A kill from Harris cut the gap to three, 10-7, before the Bulldogs scored seven of the next 10 points to go up by seven, 17-10. As the set went on, Samford continued to match any of Elon’s comeback attempts and went on to a 25-14 win.
 
Down three early in the third set, 9-6, Elon used several Bulldog miscues and a kill by freshman Chanelle Smith to tie the set at 10-all. Samford would hold the upper hand in the set but kills by C. Smith, junior Allison Johnson, Lemke and D. Smith kept the Phoenix within two points throughout the set. A kill by Lemke pulled Elon to within one, 21-20, however, the Bulldogs finished the set on a five-point run for a 25-20 win and a 3-0 match victory.
 
Elon returns to action tomorrow night, Nov. 5, against Chattanooga. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.