ELON, N.C. – After falling in five sets on Saturday, Elon volleyball bounced back with a straight-set victory over James Madison on Sunday, Oct. 10 at Schar Center.
"Really proud of the players for how they came out to start the match today, how much energy and and how much fun they were having on the court," head coach
Mary Tendler said following the win. "You could see it on their faces and they just had a little extra jump, a little more incentive to play well and I'm just so proud of them for bouncing back after a tough five-set loss yesterday. Our passers really stepped up and took the challenge of some difficult serves, which allowed our offense to be very effective."
Elon 3, James Madison 0 (25-20, 25-22, 27-25)
THE RUNDOWN
The Dukes (10-4, 4-2 CAA) rushed out to a 9-4 lead in the opening set, but Elon was able to take over 21-18 thanks to a 7-1 swing.
Sydney Love and
Leah Daniel scored back-to-back kills to start the run, and
Alex VanWestrienen followed with a pair of service aces. Following a service error, Daniel recorded another pair of kills before JMU committed an attack error.
Haylie Clark assisted Daniel for a score and then served an ace to bookend a late 3-0 run. After the Dukes earned the next point to trail 24-20, Daniel put away a ball from Clark to secure the set at 25-20.
JMU was up 6-5 early in the second set, but a service error swung momentum towards the Phoenix (11-7, 6-2). The play opened a 9-1 swing that allowed the maroon and gold to create some separation at 14-7. The Dukes made a late push to cut Elon's lead down to 23-21, but the sides then traded points as Elon grabbed another set, 25-22.
A pair of kills by Love and a
Kellyn Trowse ace highlighted a 6-1 run that gave the Phoenix control of the third set, 11-6. The guests then used a 4-0 run to tie the score at 12-12 and another 4-0 push to take the lead at 16-14, but Daniel and Trowse converted a pair of attempts to knot the set at 17-17. JMU again pulled away as four unanswered points gave the visitors a 22-18 advantage, but Love and
Jenn Krzeminski scored for yet another tie at 23-23. With both teams locked at 25-25, Clark set up Daniel for a kill before a JMU attack was ruled out and the Phoenix claimed a 27-25 decision.
HIGHLIGHTS
Clark finished the afternoon with a match-high 41 assists, Daniel led the attack with 16 kills, and Love also contributed double-digit kills with 10. Trowse, Krzeminski and Cummins shut down the Dukes offense with three blocks each.
Jordan Gower tallied a team-high 17 digs and VanWestrienen and Trowse both finished with two service aces each.
"We have competed well against some very good teams in the first half of CAA play," added Tendler. " The second half will be even more challenging as teams get to know each other better. Our goal all year has just been 'Let's win our next match no matter who it is.' We know the CAA is really strong top to bottom, any team can beat us and we can beat any team."
NOTES
- The all-time series now stand at 15-2 in favor of the Dukes.
- The win marks the second against JMU in the all-time series. The Phoenix defeated the Dukes in four sets on March 24 during the shortened spring 2021 season.
- The Phoenix combined to hit for a .333 hitting percentage, compared to a .234 clip by JMU.
- Elon edged JMU in points (62.0-47.0), kills (51-40), service aces (5-4), blocks (6-3) and assists (48-37). Both sides tallied 53 digs.
- The match featured 18 ties, including nine in the third set, and just eight lead changes.
- With Towson falling in five sets at Charleston today, Elon is back atop the league standings.
- Multiple players recorded career milestones: Clark eclipsed 1,600 career assists, Daniel surpassed 1,100 career kills, Krzeminski reached 300 career kills, Gower has 800 career digs and Trowse now owns 500 career digs.
- Clark has now reached 40 or more assists in three straight matches and pushes her double-digit assist streak to 43 matches.
- Daniel has collected double-digit kills in 11 straight matches while Love has turned in double-digit kills in four consecutive matches.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues its home stand next weekend as the team hosts UNCW for two matches on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 16-17. Sunday's match will mark Senior Day for the maroon and gold.
--ELON--
