| Elon (14-13, 3-9 CAA) vs. Hofstra & Northeastern |
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ELON, N.C. – After playing each of its first 46 seasons in Alumni Gym, Elon University volleyball will play its final two home matches in the historic building this weekend on Friday, Nov. 3, and Sunday, Nov. 5. The Phoenix will welcome Hofstra for a 7:30 p.m. match Friday night before holding Senior Day on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. against Northeastern.
SCOUTING HOFSTRA
Having played its last home match of the year, Hofstra will close the regular season with four in a row on the road starting Friday against Elon. The Pride is 7-5 in conference play to date and fifth in the CAA standings. Luisa Sydlik is averaging 11.18 assists per set thus far this season while Laura Masciullo is averaging 3.74 kills per set and Michela Rucli 1.15 blocks per set. When the two met last month in New York, Hofstra earned a 3-0 win over the Phoenix.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
Sitting tied for second in the CAA standings with a 9-3 conference record and 16-9 overall mark, Northeastern will take on William & Mary on Friday night in Williamsburg, Va., before playing Elon. Led by Amy Underdown's 3.82 kills per set and Gabrielle Eyl's CAA-leading 5.67 digs per set, the Huskies are tied with Towson for CAA Tournament seeding but have guaranteed themselves a spot in the event in Harrisonburg, Va. When Elon and Northeastern met earlier this season on Oct. 8, the Phoenix and Huskies played five sets for the third consecutive time but Northeastern came away with the 3-2 win after Elon held a lead late in the fifth. The two teams have split the last two meetings with each team winning at home, which includes Elon's 3-2 win on Senior Day 2016 on Nov. 13.
LAST TIME OUT
Taking on the defending CAA champions in their home building, Elon dropped a 3-1 decision to James Madison. Kam Terry had a stellar match with 20 kills and 10 digs and Kodi Garcia added 43 assists and 13 digs. Maddie Jaudon paced Elon's defense with 15 digs.
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. To date, Elon has won 775 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.
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 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 25 digs away from tying
Chanelle Smith for the 10th-most digs in team history.
SENIOR SUCCESS
Entering the weekend, Busa is posting CAA highs in kills (432), kills per set (4.28), points (475) and points per set (4.70) through 27 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 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. Busa recorded her 16th double-double of the season against William & Mary on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Terry also stands at 16 on the year to place among the conference's best. 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 sixth place for most digs in a career with 1,327. She passed Cheryl Spivey's 1,264 against UNCW on Oct. 15 and now takes aim at M.K. Spear's 1,368 from 2001-04. Busa has posted 1,275 kills in her career in maroon and gold, putting her sixth all-time behind Caroline Lemke's 1,279 from 2008-11.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
With 432 kills this season, Busa has the seventh-most kills in a season in program history. Velma Degree stands sixth with 438 in 1992 and Lisa Bumgarner is fifth with 473 in 1995. Busa's 432 kills also stand as the second-most in a season since Elon became a Division I program. She is 48 kills behind Emily Hayes' 480 in 2003 for the most since Elon made the switch to Division I.
Garcia's 1,079 assists this year put her ninth in Elon's single-season list for assists. It is one behind
Ana Nicksic's 1,080 assists in 2012 for the eighth-most in a season and 47 behind Emerald Zemedkun's 1,126 in 2000 for the seventh-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 eighth in the nation for total points at 475 and is seventh for total kills with 432. Garcia's 1,079 total assists to date are the seventh-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 4.10 digs per set having posted 1,327 to date in 324 sets played across 87 matches in maroon and gold.
ROOKIE SUCCESSES
Garcia and middle blocker Courtney Carpenter have had a big impact on Elon's 27 matches this season. Garcia stepped in as the team's starting setter on opening weekend and has made the most of her opportunity, posting 10.68 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 164 kills, but has recorded 75 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 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.
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 230-252 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
In the final week of the regular season, Elon will head to College of Charleston on Friday, Nov. 10, for a 3:30 p.m. matchup against the Cougars in TD Arena. The game will be played between a pair of Charleston season-opening basketball games. The regular season will close on Sunday, Nov. 12, with a 1 p.m. match in Wilmington, N.C., against UNCW. Elon suffered a 3-1 loss to Charleston earlier this season, but topped UNCW 3-0 back on Oct. 15.
--ELON--
