COLUMBIA, S.C. – After dropping its first loss of the season to UNC Asheville (2-2) in a morning match up, Elon (6-1) rebounded to when its afternoon contest against Gardner-Webb (1-3) to finish day one of the Gamecock Invitational on a winning note. The Phoenix fell to UNCA, 3-0 (22-25, 25-27, 26-28), but earned a strong win against GWU, 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 25-21). 

“We didn’t bring enough intensity to our morning match and our defensive effort was not where it needed to be,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “I like how we rebounded against Gardner-Webb. We did some good things offensively and our defense was much better.”

Senior Caroline Lemke led the Phoenix on the day with 28 total kills, followed by junior Carly Ledbetter who finished with 25. Junior Allison Johnson had a strong day on both sides of the net with 20 kills and 25 digs. Senior Megan McMahon also earned 59 assists between the two matches.

On defense, junior Ali Deatsch recorded 36 digs, while junior Celia Rose Eddy tallied five total blocks. 

In the first set, the Phoenix jumped out to a 7-2 lead thanks to two kills from sophomore Cali Estes, forcing the Bulldogs to call an early timeout. Out of the timeout, Asheville went on a short three-point run, off the serve of Rachel Wells, to close the gap to two. Later in the set, with the Bulldogs up by five, 20-15, Elon was able to cut the advantage to one by winning five of the next six points, courtesy of three kills by Lemke. With the Bulldogs at set point, 24-20, the Phoenix scored two straight to keep the set alive but Asheville was able to hold on for the 25-22 win.

Elon found itself in an early hole, 5-1, in the second set, but a five-point run gave the Phoenix an 8-6 lead. The set would remain close with neither team taking more than a two-point advantage for the next 16 points. With the Bulldogs up, 16-14, the Phoenix used the serve of Deatsch to earn the next three points with kills from Eddy, Lemke and Johnson to make it 17-16, Elon. Asheville was ready to take the set win with leading 24-22 Bulldog advantage, but the Phoenix rallied to tie the score and forced Bulldogs to call its first timeout. Out of the timeout, Elon had the opportunity to win the set with the score at 25-24 and again at 25-26, but Asheville came out with the 2-0 lead after winning 27-25.

In the third and final set, freshman Kris Harris helped put the Phoenix up, 5-3, before a Bulldog run made it eight-all. The teams would trade points until Elon scored three unanswered off a kill by Johnson and two straight from Lemke to take an 18-15 lead. After a kill by Ledbetter moved Elon up 21-18, Asheville rolled off four straight points to take a one-point lead, 22-21. With the score knotted at 23, an ace by Ledbetter put the Phoenix in position to win the set but the Bulldogs would not retreat, knotting the set at every opportunity. Asheville was able to win the final three points and take the 28-26 final-set victory.

Lemke led all players with 16 kills of 25 attempts recording only one error. Ledbetter also made a big impact for the Phoenix with 10 kills and one service ace. Senior Nickie Halbert and McMahon split the passing duties recording 23 and 19 assists, respectively. On defense, Deatsch finished with 15 digs, while senior Traci Stewart and Eddy both compiled two blocks each. 

Down 4-1 early in the first set against Gardner-Webb, the Phoenix scored three unanswered to even the score at four-all. After the Bulldogs called a timeout with Elon up three, 15-12, the maroon and gold earned four of the next six points off several Gardner-Webb miscues to take a 19-14 lead. A few plays later, a kill by Ledbetter, a block by Eddy and McMahon and two aces from Lemke capped a four-point run that gave the Phoenix the set win, 25-17

Kills from Ledbetter, Eddy and Stewart gave Elon a 4-2 edge early in the second set. Then strong block by Eddy kept Elon up by four, 12-8. The Phoenix would later go up by seven, making it 18-11, off a four-point run that ended with a kill from Johnson. After Ledbetter’s eighth kill of the match gave Elon a 23-15 advantage, the Bulldogs scored three straight to pull within five. But that was as close as Gardner-Webb would get to a comeback as Elon was able seal the win by six, 25-19. 

Down at the beginning of the third set, the Phoenix used an eight-point run with kills from Deatsch, Lemke and Johnson to take a 9-2 lead. The Bulldogs would close the gap to four, 12-8, but Lemke and Johnson continued their strong play at the net to take Elon back up by seven, 20-13. But the Bulldogs battled back off a 10-3 run to tie the set at 23-all. Gardner-Webb used that momentum to win the set, 26-24, and send the match into a fourth set.

Clinging on to a two-point advantage in the fourth set, a block by Eddy and McMahon started a 3-1 run, which was capped by kills from Ledbetter and Stewart, to go up 12-7 and force a Gardner-Webb timeout. The Phoenix continually tried to pull away, going up by as many as four several times, but the Bulldogs kept themselves in the match by closing the gap to two, 20-18. Kills by Eddy, Johnson and Stewart helped the Phoenix go back up, 24-19, and eventually end the match with a 25-21 final-set win.

Johnson recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 kills and 21 digs, while Ledbetter finished with a match-high 15 kills. Lemke and McMahon contributed to the offensive attack as well with 12 kills and 40 assists, respectively. Deatsch also tallied 21 digs to help keep the Bulldogs to a .183 attack percentage.

The Phoenix will play host South Carolina in its final match of the Gamecock Invitational tomorrow, Sept. 3, at noon.

-- ELON --