LYNCHBURG, Va. – After falling to host Liberty in straight sets this morning, Elon University volleyball came up short 3-2 against Davidson to wrap up play at the Liberty Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7 inside the VInes Center.

"We had a rough one this morning," said head coach Mary Tendler. "Liberty is a very experienced team that played a great match. I like how we bounced back in the second match. It is a match that had a lot of momentum swings, unfortunately Davidson made a late push to get the win. We look forward to playing at home in Schar Center this week."

The Phoenix is now 1-5 on the season heading into a home stretch that features four matches at Schar Center.
 
Liberty 3, Elon 2 | 12-25, 15-25, 12-25
THE RUNDOWN
Elon was unable to slow down the offense of the host Lady Flames (1-2), who established early leads in all three sets. Trailing 19-11 in the opening set, the maroon and gold couldn't halt a late 5-0 run that effectively sealed the first match point for the blue, white, and red. The Phoenix played set two closer in the early goings, but a pair of 4-0 spurts provided enough separation for Liberty to take set two, 25-15. The home team came out fast in the third set as well, building an 11-4 advantage to force an Elon timeout. Kills by Jenn Krzemisnki and Kellyn Trowse cut the Liberty lead back to single digits at 17-8, but the Phoenix wasn't able to get any closer.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Krzeminski led the offense with seven kills, while Leah Daniel and Julia Crabtree followed with four each and Kodi Garcia chipped in 15 assists. On the defensive side of the net, Isabella Seman finished with six digs, while Garcia and Jordan Gower were right behind her with four each. Daniel and Krzeminski both made two blocks.
 
Davidson 3, Elon 2 | 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 12-15
THE RUNDOWN
Set One went to Elon in what was a close back-and-forth to start the match. After a service error and a bad set awarded two points to the Phoenix, a block assist by Krzeminski and Trowse capped off the 3-0 spurt that made it a 9-5 lead in favor of the maroon and gold. The Wildcats (2-3) continued to hang around, but Elon held on 25-21 for its first match point.

Davidson broke open Set Two with an early 5-0 run that put the former SoCon rival on top, 12-6. Facing set point and trailing 24-15, Elon put up a fight with four unanswered, but the Wildcats were able to knot the match score at a set apiece.

The third set was neck-and-neck most of the way. After Davidson went up 20-19, a service error tied the set for the 12th time. The blunder was compounded by two attacking errors, and two kills by the Phoenix made it 24-20. The black and red then had a bad set and Elon took a 2-1 match lead.

Miidway through the fourth set, a service ace from Trowse got Elpn to within 12-11. However, Davidson pulled away with a 3-0 run and a 4-0 run for a 20-13 edge. Elon was able to get to 21-17, but the Wildcats held on to force a fifth set.

The Phoenix found itself out front 8-5 in the decisive set when the teams switch sides. The Wildcats clawed back to even at 10-10 and followed a Natalie Cummins kill with four straight points. Daniel was able to end the run with a score, but Davidson secured the match point for the 3-2 final. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Trowse scored 16 kills with 13 digs and Daniel was second in attacking with 15 kills. Defensive highlights included eight blocks from Krzeminski and a new career high for Elizabeth Coil, who collected seven blocks.

The Phoenix posted a better hitting percentage (.156 - .153) and recorded more blocks (29-26).
 
UP NEXT
Elon will play its home opener this Tuesday, Sept. 10 as the Phoenix hosts N.C. Central for a 7 p.m. match in Schar Center.