Elon (16-13, 5-9 CAA) at Charleston & UNCW

Date | Time	Friday, Nov. 10 | 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12 | 1 p.m.
Location	CofC | TD Arena (Charleston, S.C.) UNCW | Hanover Hall (Wilmington, N.C.)
Series Record	CofC | Charleston leads 25-2 UNCW | UNCW leads 20-14
Last Meeting	CofC | Oct. 13, 2017 - CofC, 3-1 UNCW | Oct. 15, 2017 - Elon, 3-0
Live Stats	CofC | Click Here UNCW | Click Here
Live Stats	CofC | CAA.tv UNCW | CAA.tv
Match Notes	Click Here
Twitter	@ElonScores | @ElonVB

 

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ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball will close its 2017 regular season this weekend with road matches at College of Charleston on Friday, Nov. 10, at 3:30 p.m. before ending the 31-match slate with a 1 p.m. match against UNCW on Sunday, Nov. 12.

SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 
The Cougars have already locked up the CAA regular-season championship with a 13-1 conference record. At 24-4 overall, Charleston is on a 12-match winning streak since its lone CAA loss to Northeastern back on Sept. 24 in Boston. At home, the Cougars have dropped just one set in conference play. It came in a 3-1 victory over James Madison on Oct. 23. College of Charleston has not lost in its home building since opening weekend on Aug. 28 against Denver, owning a 12-1 record in TD Arena.

SCOUTING UNCW
The Seahawks need a pair of victories and some help to pry the sixth and final seed in the CAA Tournament away from Elon. At 9-17 overall, the Seahawks have lost four of their last five matches to the likes of James Madison, Hofstra, Charleston and Towson. Its lone win was a 3-0 sweep of Delaware in Newark. Elon swept UNCW in the first meeting of the season between the two teams back on Oct. 15 in Alumni Gym.

LAST TIME OUT
The Phoenix capped a 2-0 weekend with a sweep of Northeastern in the final match in Alumni Gym on Sunday, Nov. 5. Sydney Busa had a strong afternoon with 21 kills to just two errors, finishing with a season-best .452 hitting percentage in the match. Kam Terry also had a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs while Kodi Garcia had 39 assists and Maddie Jaudon 23 digs. 

CAA TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
Though two victories would be the ideal situation, one would get the job done for the Phoenix to reach its first CAA Tournament in four years in the conference. If Elon does not win a match this weekend, the Phoenix would also be able to reach the tournament by taking one set over College of Charleston or UNCW to ensure a tiebreaker win over UNCW should the Seahawks win out in their final two matches. Should UNCW lose Friday night to William & Mary, Elon would lock up the No. 6 seed regardless of this weekend's results. 

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 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. 

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. 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 one dig away from tying Chanelle Smith's 1,096 for the 10th-most digs in team history.

SENIOR SUCCESS
Entering the weekend, Busa is posting CAA highs in kills (469), kills per set (4.30), points (516) and points per set (4.70) through 29 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. Terry recorded her team-best 18th double-double of the season with two over the weekend against Hofstra and Northeastern. Busa has 17 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 fifth place for most digs in a career with 1,374. She passed M.K. Spear's 1,368 from 2001-04 and is now taking aim at Fiona MacPherson in fourth place with 1,394 from 1995-98. Busa has posted 1,312 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 469 kills this season, Busa has the sixth-most kills in a season in program history. Lisa Bumgarner stands fifth with 473 in 1995. Busa's 469 kills also stand as the second-most in a season since Elon became a Division I program. She is 11 kills behind Emily Hayes' 480 in 2003 for the most since Elon made the switch to Division I.

Garcia's 1,160 assists this year puts her sixth in Elon's single-season list for assists. It 10 behind Sydel Curry's 1,170 in 2016 for the fifth-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 sixth in the nation for total points at 516 and is fourth for total kills with 469. Garcia's 1,160 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 4.10 digs per set having posted 1,374 to date in 332 sets played across 89 matches in maroon and gold.

ROOKIE SUCCESSES
Garcia and middle blocker Courtney Carpenter have had a big impact on Elon's 29 matches this season. Garcia stepped in as the team's starting setter on opening weekend and has made the most of her opportunity, posting 10.64 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 177 kills, but has recorded 81 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. 

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 232-252 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
Should Elon reach the CAA Tournament, the Phoenix will battle the to-be-determined No. 3 seed on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m. While College of Charleston has locked up the No. 1 seed in Harrisonburg, Va., Nos. 2-5 are still to be determined in this final weekend of action with Towson, Northeastern, James Madison and Hofstra all fighting it out.