| Elon (16-15, 5-11 CAA) at James Madison (20-5, 11-5 CAA) |
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ELON, N.C. – Making its first-ever appearance in the CAA Tournament, sixth-seeded Elon University volleyball will battled third-seeded James Madison in the CAA Quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m. inside Sinclair Gym.
SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
The Dukes have won five of their last six matches going back to Oct. 27. The 20-5 Dukes entered conference play with a perfect 9-0 record and improved it by going 11-5 in CAA regular-season action. At home, JMU is 12-2 with the two losses coming to top-seeded College of Charleston in five sets and second-seeded Towson in four sets. The Dukes are led by Bryn Recker's 3.32 kills per set, Sarah Martin's 5.41 assists per set and Taylor Austin's 5.59 digs per set. M'Kaela White paces JMU with 1.51 blocks per set. Recker, Austin and White were all named Second Team All-CAA honorees Wednesday.
LAST TIME OUT
Elon clinched its spot in the CAA Tournament by winning the second set at UNCW on Sunday, Nov. 12, in Wilmington, N.C. Elon needed to win just one set in the match to hold the tiebreaker between the Phoenix and Seahawks of total sets won against College of Charleston. Ultimately, Elon lost the match 3-1, but reached its first CAA Tournament in its brief four-year run in the CAA.
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 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. To date, Elon has won 777 matches with Alumni Gym serving as its home and claimed five regular-season conference championships, the latest coming when the Phoenix won the 2010 Southern Conference North Division title on its home floor with a pair of sweeps over Appalachian State and Western Carolina.
POSTSEASON ACCOLADES
Busa and Kodi Garcia were honored with postseason accolades Wednesday, Nov. 15, before the start of the CAA Tournament. Garcia was named the CAA Rookie of the Year and to the CAA All-Rookie Team while Busa picked up First Team All-CAA honors. The Rookie of the Year award marks Elon's first volleyball player to earn a conference Rookie of the Year award and Busa's First Team nod is the first since 1999 when Eli Mould was named First Team All-Big South.
BUSA MAKES HISTORY
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 fifth all-time in kills. She also cracked the Top 10 for digs during the last weekend of the regular season. In doing so, she and Hall are the only two players in program history to rank among the Top 10 in both career kills and digs.
SENIOR SUCCESS
Entering the weekend, Busa is posting CAA highs in kills (495), kills per set (4.27), points (543) and points per set (4.68) through the regular season. 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 nearly 1.5 kills per set and more than 0.75 digs per set higher than both of her previous career marks, which were set in 2016.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES
Busa and Terry are helping pace the CAA in double-doubles this season. Terry recorded her team-best 19th double-double of the season last time out at UNCW. Busa has 18 to date to help pace the conference. Before the campaign, Busa had posted 23 over the course of her first three years with the program while Terry has more than tripled her total after entering 2017 with seven in her first two seasons.
CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME CHARTS
Jaudon currently stands in fourth place for most digs in a career with 1,410. She passed Fiona MacPherson's fourth-place mark with 1,394 from 1995-98 and will continue next year to chase Wendy Schott's third-place mark of 1,793 from 1994-97. Busa has posted 1,338 kills in her career in maroon and gold, putting her fifth all-time behind Hall's 1,366 from 1992-95.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
With 495 kills this season, Busa has the third-most kills in a season in program history. Velma Degree stands second with 539 in 1993. Busa's 495 kills also stand as the most in a season since Elon became a Division I program. She passed Emily Hayes' 480 in 2003 for the most since Elon made the switch to Division I.
Garcia's 1,228 assists this year puts her fourth in Elon's single-season list for assists. It is 44 behind Allison Gentry's 1,272 in 1995 for the third-most in Elon's Division I history.
AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
On the national scene, Busa and Garcia rank among the country's best when it comes to points, kills and assists. To date, Busa is seventh in the nation for total points at 543 and is fourth for total kills with 495. Garcia's 1,228 total assists to date are the eighth-most 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 4.16 digs per set having posted 1,410 to date in 339 sets played across 91 matches in maroon and gold.
ROOKIE SUCCESSES
Garcia and middle blocker
Courtney Carpenter made a big impact on Elon's regular season. Garcia stepped in as the team's starting setter on opening weekend and has made the most of her opportunity, posting 10.59 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 182 kills, but has recorded 84 blocks on the season to lead the team in the category. This year, Carpenter has had eight-block performances against Navy, Delaware and Northeastern. Both players have been named CAA Rookie of the Week this season with Garcia earning the honor three times on Aug. 28, Oct. 2 and Nov. 6 and Carpenter on Sept. 25.
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 232-254 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.
LOOKING AHEAD
With a victory, Elon would advance to the CAA Semifinals to take on second-seeded Towson. First serve would be at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, at James Madison's Sinclair Gym.
--ELON--
