Elon Phoenix (3-1) at Liberty Invitational Sept. 1 | Elon vs. Furman Sept. 2 | Elon vs. Maryland Sept. 2 | Elon at Liberty

Date | Time	Friday, Sept 1 | 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2 | 10 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Location	Vines Center (Lynchburg, Va.)
Series Record	FUR | Furman leads 14-5 UM | Maryland leads 1-0 LU | Liberty leads 21-2
Last Meeting	FUR | Nov. 9, 2013 - Furman, 3-1 UM | Aug. 29, 2014 - Maryland, 3-1 LU | Aug. 30, 2014 - Liberty, 3-0
Live Stats	vs. Furman vs. Maryland at Liberty
Watch Live	ESPN3
Match Notes	Click Here
Twitter	@ElonScores | @ElonVB

 

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ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball will compete in its second tournament of the 2017 season Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1 and 2, in Lynchburg, Va., against the likes of former Southern Conference rival Furman, Big Ten foe Maryland and host Liberty. First serve against Furman on Friday is set for 4:30 p.m. before playing a 10 a.m. match against Maryland and a 7 p.m. match against Liberty on Saturday. All three matches will take place inside Liberty's Vines Center. 

SCOUTING FURMAN
Furman opened the 2017 season last weekend at the Hyatt Regency Georgia Tech Tournament in Atlanta and went 1-2 with the lone victory coming in a five-set win over Georgia Tech. In the other two matches, the Paladins fell 3-0 to Michigan State and 3-1 to Auburn. Jamila Johnson leads Furman thus far with 4.25 kills per set while Hunter Thompson's is averaging 8.42 assists per set. All-time, Furman owns a 14-5 advantage in the series. Last time the two met was when Elon and Furman were both in the Southern Conference back on Nov. 9, 2013. In that match, Furman took a 3-1 victory in South Carolina. 

SCOUTING MARYLAND
The Terrapins opened the season with three home victories in the Maryland Invite over UMBC, Northeastern and Temple. Maryland defeated both UMBC and Northeastern 3-1 before Temple took the Terps five sets. Erika Pritchard led Maryland's well-balanced attack in the tournament, averaging 2.85 kills per set. In all, five different Terrapins are averaging at least two kills per set. Maryland took the lone meeting with the Phoenix to date back on Aug. 29, 2014, when it won 3-1 in Alumni Gym to start the 2014 campaign. 

SCOUTING LIBERTY
Liberty competed in the Cavalier Classic last weekend, opening the campaign with a 1-2 record. Its lone win came via a 3-1 defeat of Hofstra to close the tournament. In its first two matches of the tournament, Liberty lost 3-0 to Villanova and 3-1 to Virginia. Gabrielle Vess leads the team with 3.22 kills per set while Anna Willey is averaging 9.33 assists per set thus far. Liberty owns a 21-2 lead in the all-time series with Elon. The two last met Aug. 30, 2014, when Liberty closed the Elon Phoenix Classic with a 3-0 sweep of the Phoenix. 

STICKING AROUND
Three of the four coaches leading programs this weekend have been the head coach of his or her respective program for at least 14 seasons. Furman's Michelle Young of Furman is the longest tenured of the four. She is in her 18th season at the helm of the Paladins. Elon's Mary Tendler is second among the group, now in her 15th season with the Phoenix while Liberty's Shane Pinder is in his 14th season with the Flames. Maryland's Steve Aird is in his fourth year with the Terrapins. All four head coaches are still with the program they started their head coaching careers with.

LAST TIME OUT
After a back-and-forth first 31 points on Tuesday, Aug. 29, inside Alumni Gym, Elon took complete control of the match against North Carolina A&T by going on a 35-8 run between the first and second sets on the way to a 25-17, 25-7, 25-18 sweep of the Aggies. Courtney Carpenter led the Phoenix with 10 kills and hit 69.2 percent. Sydney Busa and Kam Terry each added nine in the win. Kodi Garcia also added a match high 32 assists and six digs. North Carolina A&T held a 16-15 lead in the first set before Elon started its lengthy run, winning 10 of the next 11 points to take the opening set. In the second, the Phoenix kept the pressure on with a dominating 25-7 victory before going on to sweep the match with a 25-18 win in the third set. 

HEY ROOKIE!
Kodi Garcia stepped in as Elon's starting setter on opening weekend and made the most of the opportunity, finishing the three matches with two double-doubles behind 123 assists and 26 digs. Her 123 digs averaged out to a stellar 10.25 per set. That number only increased after a 32-assist performance in Elon's three-set win over North Carolina A&T, which upped her average to 10.33 per set. For her efforts on opening weekend, Garcia was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday.

QUEEN CITY QUEENS
Sydney Busa and Kam Terry had stellar opening weekends in Charlotte and were both named to the Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team. Busa led the Phoenix with 59 kills (4.92 per set) and 43 digs (3.58 per set). Entering this weekend Busa is leading the CAA in kills with 68. Terry had double-doubles in all three weekend matches, finishing with 54 kills (4.50 per set) and 34 digs (2.83 per set). 

PRESEASON HONOR AND POLL
Sydney Busa was named a Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention earlier this month. 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 219-240 record to date with the Phoenix since the start of the 2003 season.

A BID FAREWELL TO ALUMNI GYM
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
Following the weekend tournament, Elon will head to Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, Sept. 5, for a 7 p.m. match against the Runnin' Bulldogs. After that, Elon will open a five-match homestand and play nine of its next 10 at home in Alumni Gym to close the month of September.