Elon Phoenix (12-6, 2-2 CAA) at N.C. Central Eagles (0-12, 0-1 MEAC)

Date | Time	Tuesday, Oct. 3 | 6 p.m.
Location	McDougald-McLendon Arena (Durham, N.C.)
Series Record	Elon leads 23-5
Last Meeting	Sept. 9, 2017 - Elon, 3-1
Live Stats	Click Here
Watch Live	Click Here
Match Notes	Click Here
Twitter	@ElonScores | @ElonVB

 

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ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball will close out its 2017 non-conference slate on Tuesday evening, Oct. 3, in Durham, N.C., against North Carolina Central. First serve in McDougald-McLendon Arena is set for 6 p.m.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL
The Eagles are winless on the season, having lost each of their 12 matches thus far this year. One of those defeats came Sept. 9 when NCCU fell 3-1 to Elon in Alumni Gym during the Phoenix Classic. Da'Nesha Miller, the Eagles' Phoenix Classic All-Tournament Team honoree, leads N.C. Central with 1.93 kills per set while Paige Phillips averages 7.29 assists per set.

LAST TIME OUT
The Phoenix posted a .305 hitting percentage, the best in a four-set match to date this season, in a victory over William & Mary to close a four-match homestand on Thursday, Sept. 28. Sydney Busa led the Phoenix with 22 kills while Courtney Carpenter posted 11 and had a .500 hitting percentage with just two errors on 18 attacks. Kodi Garcia posted 60 assists, marking the second-most in a match for an Elon player since October 2007 and the most in a four-set match since Nov. 12, 2005.

SENIOR SUCCESS
Entering the week, Sydney Busa was averaging CAA highs in kills (290), kills per set (4.33), points (319.5) and points per set (4.77) through 18 matches. The senior from Leesburg, Va., was named to three of the four possible All-Tournament teams this fall through 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 1.4 kills per set and nearly 1.0 digs per set higher than both of her previous career marks, which were set in 2016. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
Busa and Kam Terry are pacing the CAA in double-doubles this season. The duo are both at 11 double-doubles on the season and stand among the conference's best in the category. 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 seventh place for most digs in a career with 1,204. She passed Maria LaButto's seventh-place mark of 1,198 digs last week and is now taking aim at Cheryl Spivey's 1,264. Busa has posted 1,133 kills in her career in maroon and gold, putting her ninth all-time after passing Britany Westphal's ninth-place 1,102 last week. She stands just 10 kills behind Juliena Gigon's eighth-place 1,143 kills. 

A PAIR OF MILESTONES
Jaudon surpassed the 1,000-career dig mark at the Liberty Invitational. She is averaging 4.15 digs per set having posted 1,204 to date in 290 sets played across 78 matches in maroon and gold. Busa eclipsed the 1,000-career kill mark during the third set of Elon's 3-1 win over NC Central on Saturday, Sept. 9, and is now setting her sights on becoming one of the few players in program history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. To date, Busa has posted 945 digs and is just 55 away from becoming the fourth player in program history to reach the elite club.

ROOKIE SUCCESS STORIES
First-year setter Kodi Garcia and middle blocker Courtney Carpenter had made a big impact on Elon's first 18 matches this season. Garcia stepped in as the team's starting setter on opening weekend and has made the most of her opportunity, posting 10.69 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 113 kills, but has recorded 51 blocks on the season. In recent weeks, Carpenter has had eight-block performances against both Navy and Delaware. 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.

HOME SWEET ALUMNI GYM
After playing seven of the first eight matches of the season away from Alumni Gym, Elon has played nine of its last 10 at home. That home run concluded Thursday night with the match against William & Mary. Throughout the remainder of the season, the Phoenix will play just four more home matches, contesting nine of its final 13 matches on the road. 

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 228-245 record to date with the Phoenix since the start of the 2003 season. Over the weekend, 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 start a 12-match run against CAA foes to close the season on Friday, Oct. 6, at 5 p.m. when it takes on Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. The match is the second of three in a row away from Alumni Gym. The last one will come two days later on Sunday, Oct. 8, when Elon takes on Northeastern in Boston at 1 p.m.