| Elon Phoenix (4-3) at Gardner-Webb (2-4) |
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ELON, N.C. – Closing out a four-match road trip, Elon University volleyball will travel to Boiling Springs, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 5, for a 7 p.m. matchup against Gardner-Webb inside Paul Porter Arena. The match marks the seventh of the first eight for the Phoenix this season to be played away from Alumni Gym.
SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
The Runnin' Bulldogs own a 2-4 record through the first six matches of the season. In each of its first two tournaments, Gardner-Webb is 1-2. The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated Rider at the JMU Classic, but lost to James Madison and Sacred Heart on opening weekend. In its home tournament last weekend, Gardner-Webb beat North Carolina Central on Friday, Sept. 1, before falling to USC Upstate and Wofford. Kaelyn Dyson leads team with 60 kills thus far. She is hitting 33.3 percent for the season. Four Runnin' Bulldog regulars are averaging at least two kills per set. Amanda Sahm has posted 193 assists (8.04 per set) over the course of the six matches.
SERIES HISTORY
Elon has won 26 of the 34 meetings between the two programs to date. The Phoenix has won each of the last eight matchups dating back to Sept. 26, 1996, and is unbeaten against Gardner-Webb in five matches as a Division I program. A season ago, Elon dispatched the Runnin' Bulldogs 3-1 inside Alumni Gym on Sept. 10, 2016.
LAST TIME OUT
Taking part in the Liberty Invitational, Elon competed in three very competitive matches but finished the weekend with a 1-2 record. It started the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Furman and fell 3-1 to Maryland on Saturday morning before defeating host Liberty in four sets to close the weekend.
Sydney Busa led the Phoenix with 52 kills and 55 digs. She was named to the Liberty Invitational All-Tournament Team after posting double-doubles in all three matches Elon played in the tournament.
SOLID START FOR THE SENIOR
Busa leads the CAA in kills (120) kills per set (4.44), points (128.5) and points per set (4.76) through seven matches this season. The senior from Leesburg, Va., has been named to both the Charlotte Invitational and Liberty Invitational All-Tournament teams and has posted five double-doubles in seven matches. Entering the season, Busa had never averaged more than 2.82 kills per set in a season or 2.71 digs per set. Through the early going in 2017, she's nearly two kills and more than one dig per set over her previous season highs, both recorded in 2016.
JAUDON'S MILESTONE
Junior libero
Maddie Jaudon surpassed the 1,000-career dig mark over the weekend at the Liberty Invitational. She now has 1,028 digs in her career, which stands 52 short of cracking the Top 10 in Elon's program history. In 250 sets played, Jaudon is averaging 4.12 digs per set in her career. That has come over the course of 67 matches with the Phoenix. The program record for most digs in a career is held by Debbie Hall, who recorded 2,036 digs from 1992-95.
HEY ROOKIE!
First-year setter
Kodi Garcia stepped in as Elon's starting setter on opening weekend and has made the most of the opportunity. To date, she has 276 assists in 27 sets and stands third in the CAA for assists per set at 10.22 behind Luisa Sydlik of Hofstra (11.72 per set) and Allison Beckman of College of Charleston (11.04 per set). She has earned three double-doubles in Elon's first seven matches, the latest coming with 47 assists and 17 digs in the win over Liberty. For her performance on opening weekend in Charlotte, when she had 123 assists (10.25 per set) and 26 digs, she was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday, Aug. 28.
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 220-242 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
Elon will start a run in which nine of its next 10 matches will be played inside Alumni Gym. The home stretch starts Friday, Sept. 8, with the start of the Phoenix Classic. Over the course of the weekend, Elon will host Charleston Southern, North Carolina Central and Norfolk State for the round robin tournament. Elon will take on Charleston Southern on Friday at 7 p.m., North Carolina Central on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Norfolk State on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Neutral site matches between the other three teams will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday and at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. For more information about the Phoenix Classic, visit Tournament Central by clicking
here.
--ELON--
