Elon (14-9, 3-5 CAA) at Towson & Delaware

Date | Time	Friday, Oct. 20 | 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 | 1 p.m.
Location	TOW | Towson, Md. (SECU Arena) UD | Newark, Del. (Bob Carpenter Center)
Series Record	TOW | Towson leads 8-1 UD | Delaware leads 5-2
Last Meeting	TOW | Sept. 22, 2017 - Towson, 3-1 UD | Sept. 23, 2017 - Elon, 3-2
Live Stats	TOW | Click Here UD | Click Here
Watch Live	TOW | CAA.tv UD | CAA.tv
Match Notes	Click Here
Twitter	@ElonScores | @ElonVB

 

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ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball opens the second half of Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend with road matches at Towson on Friday, Oct. 20, and Delaware Sunday, Oct. 24. First serve against the Tigers in SECU Arena is set for 7 p.m. before a 1 p.m. start time against the Blue Hens in the Bob Carpenter Center.

SCOUTING TOWSON
After entering CAA play with a perfect 14-0 record, Towson is 5-3 in conference play and has won each of its last three matches on the road against UNCW, Delaware and James Madison. Carola Biver paces Towson with 3.10 kills per set. She's followed closely by Jocelyn Kuilan's 3.09 kills per set this season. Anna Holehouse averages 4.91 digs per set and Olamide Sonuga has averaged 0.91 blocks per set. Last time Elon and Towson met in Alumni Gym on Sept. 22, Elon dropped the first two sets before taking the third 25-18. In the end, though, the Tigers won the fourth set to win 3-1. Sydney Busa had 22 digs and 13 assists to pace the Phoenix. 

SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Blue Hens own a 3-15 record on the year and a 1-7 mark in conference play. Its lone win was a five-set victory over William & Mary to start CAA play. Since, Delaware had dropped seven matches in a row. The Blue Hens do take on the Tribe on Friday night before welcoming Elon on Sunday afternoon. Delaware is led by Maria Bellinger's 4.16 kills per set while Maddie Judge averages 3.53 digs per set and Julia Hayes' 0.95 blocks per set. Elon defeated Delaware 3-2 in Alumni Gym on Sept. 23. 

LAST TIME OUT
Elon closed the first half of the conference season with a sweep of UNCW in Alumni Gym for the team's first win over the Seahawks since 2009. Busa posted a match-high 18 kills and 14 digs and Kam Terry had a 12-kill, 12-dig double-double. The Seahawks did not have a player reach double-digit kills in the match with Madison Peters nine leading the way. Kodi Garcia also added 43 assists in the win. 

BUSA MAKES HISTORY
Sydney Busa became the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career in Elon's sweep of UNCW on Sunday, Oct. 15. She joined the likes of Hall of Famer Debbie Hall, Katie Ruoff and Fiona MacPherson as the only individuals in Elon's 46-year history to have reached the milestone. She currently stands sixth all-time in kills. Should she crack the Top 10 in digs, she would join Hall as the only two players in program history to be on the Top 10 charts for both kills and digs. Currently, Busa is 94 kills away from tying for 10th place.

SENIOR SUCCESS
Entering the weekend, Busa is posting CAA highs in kills (368), kills per set (4.33), points (406.5) and points per set (4.78) through 23 matches. The senior from Leesburg, Va., was named to three of the four possible All-Tournament teams this fall in non-conference play. Entering the year, Busa had never averaged more than 2.82 kills per set or 2.71 digs per set in a season. Thus far in 2017, she is more than 1.5 kills per set and nearly 0.75 digs per set higher than both of her previous career marks, which were set in 2016. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
Busa and Kam Terry are helping pace the CAA in double-doubles this season. Busa recorded her 14th double-double of the season against Towson while Terry stands at 13 on the year after two last weekend against Towson and Delaware to place among the conference's best. Before the season, Busa had posted 23 over the course of her first three years with the program while Terry has more than doubled her total after entering 2017 with seven. 

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Maddie Jaudon currently stands in sixth place for most digs in a career with 1,270. She passed Cheryl Spivey's 1,264 against Towson and now takes aim at M.K. Spear's 1,368 from 2001-04. Busa has posted 1,211 kills in her career in maroon and gold, putting her sixth all-time behind Caroline Lemke's 1,279 from 2008-11.

AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
On the national scene, Busa and Garcia rank among the country's best when it comes to kills, points and assists. To date, Busa is sixth in the nation for total points at 406.5 and is fourth for total kills with 368. Garcia's 899 total assists to date are eighth in the nation and the most by a freshman. 

JAUDON'S MILESTONE
Jaudon surpassed the 1,000-career dig mark at the Liberty Invitational. She is averaging 4.11 digs per set having posted 1,270 to date in 308 sets played across 83 matches in maroon and gold.

ROOKIE SUCCESSES
Garcia and middle blocker Courtney Carpenter have had a big impact on Elon's 23 matches this season. Garcia stepped in as the team's starting setter on opening weekend and has made the most of her opportunity, posting 10.58 assists per set thus far to place third in the CAA by more than three assists per set. Carpenter thus far is third on the team with 135 kills, but has recorded 67 blocks on the season to lead the team in the category. In recent weeks, Carpenter has had eight-block performances against both Navy, Delaware and Northeastern. Both players have been named CAA Rookie of the Week this season with Garcia earning the honor twice on Aug. 28 and Oct. 2 and Carpenter on Sept. 25. 

PRESEASON HONOR AND POLL
Busa was named a Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention before the start of the 2017 season. It marks the second time in her career she's earned the honor. The recognition follows her 2016 Third Team All-CAA nod at season's end. Announced the same day as Busa's preseason honor, Elon was selected to finish eighth in the CAA this year. College of Charleston was picked to win the league with six first-place votes and Hofstra followed closely with three first-place votes.

CLOSING ON THE ROAD
Down the stretch this season, Elon will only play two of its final eight matches inside the friendly confines of Alumni Gym. Those two matches will come the first weekend of November on Nov. 3 and 5 against Hofstra and Northeastern.

HEAD COACH MARY TENDLER
Elon head coach Mary Tendler is in her 15th season at the helm of the program. After winning her 200th match as the team's leader last season, she holds a 230-248 record to date with the Phoenix since the start of the 2003 season. On Saturday, Sept. 30, Tendler returned to University of Illinois, where she was a member of the school's inaugural Hall of Fame class.

BIDDING FAREWELL
The 2017 season marks the 46th and final campaign for the volleyball program in Alumni Gym, with the team set to move its home matches to the Schar Center in 2018. The 5,400-seat convocation center is currently under construction and will host the volleyball program, as well as the men's and women's basketball programs, beginning with the 2018-19 academic year.

LOOKING AHEAD
Elon will remain on the road with a 7 p.m. match on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at William & Mary. The four-match road trip will close on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. at James Madison.