WILMINGTON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball built a 2-0 match lead, but host UNCW rallied as the Phoenix fell in five sets Thursday night, Nov. 8, in Hanover Hall.
 
"Congratulations to UNCW on the win tonight," said head coach Mary Tendler. "Both teams played hard from start to finish; it was very competitive. It was one of those matches where the team that provided the final push was going to win it. Unfortunately, that was not us tonight. We look forward to celebrating our senior class on Sunday as we welcome College of Charleston to Schar Center."
 
With the loss, Elon drops to 13-14 on the season and 4-11 in conference play. UNCW improves to 14-11, 7-8.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Both of the first two sets were close, with both sides trading points from start to finish. With Elon holding a narrow 13-12 lead in the opening set, the hosts put together a 3-0 run to wrestle away the lead, but the Phoenix answered in kind. Knotted at 23-all late, Kodi Garcia assisted Elizabeth Coil for a score and Kam Terry secured the set point for claim the first match point.
 
Set two looked much like the first. UNCW held a 21-19 advantage when a pair of Terry kills highlighted a 4-0 run by the maroon and gold. After an Elon attack error allowed the Seahawks to pull to within 23-22, the Phoenix recovered and earned the next two points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
UNCW jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in set three and never looked back. Kills by Alexa Pavlick and Nori Thomas pulled Elon to within 16-13, but the team couldn't get any closer as the Seahawks went on to a 25-18 decision. The home team never allowed Elon to take the lead in set four. The Seahawks scored four unanswered early and then closed out the set with three-straight points to stay alive and force a decisive set.
 
After the Seahawks scored the first three points of set five, a Thomas score and a Kelly service ace allowed the Phoenix to knot the set at 5-all. After another tie at 8-all, a 4-0 swing by UNCW too much for Elon as the hosts pulled off the comeback, 15-10.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
It was a big night for both of Elon's juniors as Thomas set a career-high and led the Phoenix attack with 20 kills. The Stafford, Va. native hit .333 and added four blocks with three digs to her totals. Coil also reached double-digit kills with a season-high 10 and matched Thomas' effort with four blocks of her own. Terry posted 15 kills with 17 digs, while Garcia came within one assist of her season-best at 43 to go along with 10 digs. Terry and Erin Kelly served three aces each. Madi Genaway and Maddie Jaudon tallied 21 digs apiece, marking a season-high for Genaway.

NOTES
-UNCW secured a spot in the CAA Championship Tournament with the win, while Elon will wrap up its season on Sunday, Nov. 11, against College of Charleston.
-The Seahawks improve to 22-15 in the all-time series, including 10-1 when playing in Wilmington. The match marked the sixth time in the series and second time this season that the teams have gone to five sets.
-It marked the second consecutive season the two programs have split their regular-season series.
-The match featured 31 ties and nine lead changes.
-Jaudon is now four digs away from reaching 1,900 for her career. She will enter her final match as a Phoenix needing 24 to move past Ali Deatsch ('12) into second place on Elon's all-time leaders list.
-Terry now owns 1,342 career kills and can move past Sydney Busa ('17) into fifth place with 20 on Sunday. Additionally, 25 would allow Terry to pass Debbie Hall ('95) into fourth and 28 would place her third above Katie Ruoff ('99).
-With five assists on the night, Haylie Clark is now three away from reaching 200.
 
UP NEXT.
Elon hosts Charleston for a 2 p.m. match Sunday afternoon in what marks Senior Day for the Phoenix. The team will recognize Pavlick, Kelly, Jaudon, Terry, and team practice player Max Pivonka before the first serve.