Elon at Towson Elon at James Madison Date/Time Oct. 23 | 7 p.m. Oct. 24 | 7:30 p.m. Location Towson, Md. Harrisonburg, Va. Facility SECU Arena Sinclair Gymnasium Series History Towson leads, 4-1 JMU leads, 4-0 Last Meeting Oct. 4, 2015 Towson won, 3-1 Oct. 2, 2015 JMU won, 3-0 Live Video at Towson Live Stats at Towson at JMU Twitter Updates @elonscores

ELON, N.C. – Riding a two-match winning streak, the Elon volleyball team begins the second half of Colonial Athletic Association competition this weekend with matches at Towson and James Madison. The Phoenix (5-17, 1-7) plays the Tigers (19-4, 6-3) in a 7 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 23, in Towson, Md., before taking on the league leading Dukes (18-3, 8-0) on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va.
 
A Look at the Phoenix
Elon tallied its second straight win on Tuesday night in the form of a sweep over visiting North Carolina A&T in its annual Pink Match. Sydney Busa tallied one of two double-doubles for the Phoenix, her sixth of the season, with a match-high 11 kills and 12 digs. Catherine Head finished with 10 kills off 19 attempts and only one error to hit .474 in the match. Sydel Curry tallied a new three-set career high with 35 assists, while also recording her sixth double-double of the season with 12 digs. On defense, Head and Busa each posted a match-high four blocks to help the Phoenix to five total blocks.
 
Scouting the Tigers
Towson enters the weekend after a five-set loss to Delaware on Wednesday night. TU owns a 6-3 CAA record and are 19-4 overall on the season. The Tigers rank second nationally with 1,257 team kills this season, while leading the conference in both assists (also second nationally) and hitting percentage. Towson averages 13.78 assists per set and owns a hitting percentage of .263, while holding opponents to a .187 mark. Junior Candace Steadman leads the conference in hitting percentage with a .409 mark on the season, while freshman Anna Holehouse is 20th nationally in total digs with 406 and third in the conference in digs per set (4.72)
 
Series History
The Phoenix and the Tigers have met on the volleyball court five times with Towson claiming the advantage, 4-1, in the series. Elon won the first meeting in 1998, 3-2, before the Tigers took the victory in the next match in 2004. Earlier this season, Towson won 3-1 in Alumni Gym.
 
Scouting the Dukes
JMU is perfect in CAA play so far this season with an 8-0 record and 18-3 overall on the year. Last week, Sarah Patterson and Taylor Austin claimed CAA Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors, respectively, making it six total weekly honors for the Dukes this season. JMU ranks 17th nationally and first in the CAA in aces per set (1.70) with the help of 33 aces on the season from freshman Bryn Recker. When it comes to conference only matches, the Dukes lead the CAA in hitting percentage with a .249 mark. Junior Janey Goodman leads the conference in kills with 4.19/set and ranks 36th in the nation, while libero Taylor Austin is second in the CAA in digs with 4.95 per set.
 
Series History
Outside of conference matches the last two seasons, the Phoenix and the Dukes have only met one other time. JMU owns a 4-0 advantage in the series with a win earlier this season, two victories in 2014 and the other in 2007. The Dukes claimed a 3-0 win on Oct. 2 in Alumni Gym in the last meeting.
 
Dukes Connection
Prior to becoming the Elon head coach, Mary Tendler was an assistant coach at JMU for three seasons, helping the team to a CAA tournament title and an NCAA appearance in 2000.
 
Block Party
The Elon defense has been impressive at the net so far this season and is out-blocking opponents 189.5-133.5. The Phoenix has out-blocked the other team in 15 of its 22 matches this year and is averaging 2.4 blocks per set. The maroon and gold block has been led by Catherine Head and Ally Karle, who have each recorded career highs this season. Karle posted 11 blocks at Hofstra, which was the most by an Elon player since 2006, and ranks second on the program's Division I single-match records list. Elon ranks 55th nationally (fourth in the conference) in total blocks and 64th (second in CAA) in blocks per set.
 
Head Coach Mary Tendler
Elon head coach Mary Tendler is in her 13th season with the Phoenix program. She enters this weekend's matches with a 196-218 Elon and career coaching record.
 
One-on-One
With each match preview, elonphoenix.com will present at One-on-One feature with a member of the volleyball team. This week's One-on-One is with sophomore Michelle Klein.
 
Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix this weekend and through the season with updates on elonphoenix.com. Live stats for every volleyball match will be available on the team's schedule and home pages on the Elon athletic website. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores.
 
Looking Ahead
The Phoenix returns home for a mid-week CAA match next Wednesday, Oct. 28, to host the Tribe of William & Mary at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.