COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Elon volleyball team handed South Carolina its first set loss of the Gamecock Invitational today, Sept. 3, but was not able to take the match win, falling 3-1 (20-25, 12-25, 25-22, 9-25). The Phoenix is now 6-2, while the Gamecocks improve to 6-0 on the season.

“I was really happy with how we pushed back today,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “We played a great first set and then had a let down in the second. After the 10-minute break, we fought really hard and were able to win the third. It’s important as we move along to know that we can fight back. Our team showed some toughness today against a very good and talented South Carolina team.”

Juniors Allison Johnson and Carly Ledbetter led the team with nine kills apiece, while senior Traci Stewart recorded seven kills and 22 digs. Senior Caroline Lemke finished with eight kills and five block assists. Seniors Nickie Halbert and Megan McMahon tallied 18 and 15 assists, respectively.

Junior Ali Deatsch led the defensive attack with 32 digs, while junior Melissa Zidar recorded a career-high 11 digs.

In the first set, Lemke, Johnson and junior Celia Rose Eddy all got kills in to keep the score even at four-all. A kill from Stewart pulled the Phoenix within two, 10-8, but a four-point run put the Gamecocks up by six. With the score in favor of South Carolina, 19-13, Elon pieced together three unanswered points off the serve of Deatsch that included a kill from Eddy and a block by Lemke and Stewart to close the gap to three. From there, the Gamecocks scored six of the next 10 points to win the set, 25-20.

South Carolina started off strong in the second set building a 7-1 lead and forcing Tendler to call an early timeout. Out of the timeout, Elon scored on two of the next three plays with kills from Stewart and Johnson to cut the Gamecock advantage to five, 8-3. With USC up 21-9, a kill from freshman Danielle Smith and two from Ledbetter spurred a 3-1 Phoenix run that made it a 22-12 set. However, the South Carolina edge was too much for Elon to recover from as USC went on to a 25-12 victory and 2-0 match lead.

Back-to-back block assists at the beginning of the third set by Lemke and Johnson and then by Lemke and Ledbetter got the Phoenix off to a good start with a 3-2 lead. With the score tied at 12-all, a kill and then an ace by Stewart gave Elon a two-point edge and forced a USC timeout, its first of the match. After the Gamecocks took the first point out of the timeout, the Phoenix scored three unanswered starting with a block by Johnson and Smith. Two kills from Johnson capped the run, causing another South Carolina timeout with score in favor of the maroon and gold, 18-13. The Gamecocks would then score six straight to go up 20-18, but a block from Smith and sophomore Cali Estes stopped the run. With the score at 21-all, a block assist by Lemke and Stewart, a solo block by Lemke and then a kill from Stewart put Elon up 24-21, helping the team earn the eventual 25-22 set win and keeping the match alive for the Phoenix. Elon recorded six of its seven total blocks in the third set.

In the fourth set, kills from Johnson and Lemke closed a South Carolina lead to 4-3 before the Gamecocks grabbed four of the next five points to take a four-point advantage, 8-4. Stewart pulled the Phoenix back within three, 10-7, but from there USC went on a 7-1 run to go up by nine, 17-8. South Carolina finished the set and match by scoring seven unanswered to win 25-9. 

Next up for the Phoenix is the Butler Invitational on Sept. 9 – 10 in Indianapolis. Elon will play host Butler on Friday, Sept. 9, at 11 a.m. inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.

-- ELON --