DURHAM, N.C. – With strong play from freshman Chanelle Smith and senior Caroline Lemke, the Elon volleyball team picked up another pair of wins on the second day of the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament to take the tournament title today, August 27. The Phoenix (4-0) defeated host North Carolina Central (0-2), 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-14), in its first match of the day and earned another 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-19) victory over Campbell (2-1) in an afternoon tilt.

“I was very happy how we went match-to-match in the tournament,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “We were very disciplined defensively and at the same time scored a lot in transition. It was a nice balance. We learned a lot about the team and know what we need to work on in practice to prepare for our upcoming matches.”

Smith and Lemke ended the day with 27 and 18 total kills, respectively. Junior Carly Ledbetter also made a strong impact with 14 kills, while senior Megan McMahon recorded 58 assists. Junior Ali Deatsch led the defense with 25 digs in the two matches.

Ledbetter was named the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament MVP after recording 35 kills and eight service aces in 12 sets. Lemke was named to the all-tournament team for her 30 kills and .450 attack percentage in the four matches.

With the first set tied at five-all against NCCU, Smith spurred a six-point run that put Elon up 11-5. After an Eagle miscue, the Phoenix went on another run, capped by back-to-back kills by junior Celia Rose Eddy, to take a nine-point advantage, 15-6. A kill by Lemke would later increase the Phoenix lead to 10 to make it 22-12. Elon would eventually take the set, 25-16.

Elon held a one-point advantage, 5-4, in the second set before a block by sophomore Cali Estes and freshman Kristen Harris got the Phoenix rolling. With the score, 11-8, in favor of the maroon and gold, a five-point run that included two kills each from Eddy and junior Allison Johnson put Elon up 16-8. The Eagles pulled within six to make the score 20-14, but Elon held on to take the set win, 25-17.

In the third and final set, the score remained close until an ace by Deatsch and a kill by Ledbetter put the Phoenix up 9-5. Up by five, 14-9, the Phoenix went on a four-point run, highlighted by a block from Harris, to increase the advantage to nine. With the set at match point for Elon, 24-12, NCCU scored two straight but was not able to make the comeback as the Phoenix took the set, 25-14, and the 3-0 match victory.

Smith led the way for the maroon and gold with 13 kills. Eddy recorded eight kills, while Lemke and Harris tallied five each. McMahon and senior Nickie Halbert split the passing duties with 18 and 15 assists, respectively. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Harris recorded three blocks and Deatsch finished with eight digs. 

The Phoenix stormed out to a commanding 11-2 lead in the first set against Campbell, forcing the Camels to call an early timeout. With the score 17-7 in favor of Elon, the team went on a four-point run to increase its lead by 14. With the match nearing set point, the Camels closed the gap to 23-12, but the Phoenix won the next two points to take the first set, 25-12. 

In the second set, Campbell took an early 4-0 lead, but kills by Lemke and Ledbetter helped Elon tie the set at eight-all. The Phoenix found itself down three, 13-10, before a five-point run, which included an ace from Deatsch and back-to-back kills from Smith, gave the team its first lead of the game, 15-13. Off the serve of Smith, Elon scored six straight points to extend its lead to eight, 23-15. The set would eventually go to the Phoenix, 25-20, and give the maroon and gold a 2-0 match lead.

After falling behind by as many as five points, Elon rallied back with a four-point run off the serve of Ledbetter to take its first lead of the set, 15-14. The Phoenix increased its advantage to 20-16, with kills courtesy of Lemke and Smith. Elon would go on to win five of the next eight points to take the 25-19 set win and its second 3-0 victory of the day. 

Lemke recorded 13 kills off 25 attempts and no errors to compile a .520 attack percentage. Smith tallied the first double-double of her young career with 14 kills and 12 digs. Ledbetter finished with 11 kills, while McMahon recorded 40 assists. As a team, Elon hit .244 and held Campbell to a .026 hitting percentage.

Deatsch ended the match with 17 digs, while junior Melissa Zidar also made an impact on defense matching her career-high of seven digs.

Elon will make its first home appearance of the 2011 season on Tuesday, August 30, against Radford in Alumni Gym. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. 

-- ELON --