CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston took the first meeting of the CAA series as Elon University volleyball fell in straight sets on Saturday afternoon, March 27 at TD Arena.
 
"College of Charleston played a very good game today; congratulations to them on the win," said head coach Mary Tendler. "I liked how we fought back after a rough first set and had opportunities to win the next two. We need to execute more consistently tomorrow to get the split."

Elon 0, Charleston 3  (18-25, 24-26, 27-29)
THE RUNDOWN
In the first set, a Leah Daniel kill and three straight CofC errors helped the Phoenix (5-4, 3-3 CAA) take a 6-4 lead. However, the Cougars (4-5, 3-4) took off with 11 unanswered points to pull away 21-9. Another four kills from Daniel highlighted an 8-1 response by the maroon and gold as Elon closed the gap at 22-17, but the hosts held on 25-18 to take the first set point.

Elon jumped out to an early 7-3 advantage in Set Two. A 4-0 run allowed the Cougar to pull even at 9-9 though and the rest of the set remained close. The Phoenix was up 23-20 late in the set as Kodi Garcia assisted Haylie Clark, but another four-straight points swung momentum to Charleston. Natalie Cummins scored a kill to knot the set at 24-24, but the next two points went to the Cougars who took the 2-0 match lead.

Set Three remained close with Daniel converting a Clark assist to put Elon in front 16-14. Charleston then took off with a 7-0 run, but Elon came up with a 5-0 response to pull even at 21-21. The sides then traded points until a service error and a bad set allowed the Cougars to take the set 29-27 and the match 3-0.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Daniel paced the offense with 19 kills and added 10 digs for the double-double. Clark also recorded a double-double with 13 digs and 11 assists, was second on the team in scoring with seven kills, and made two blocks. Garcia finished with a match-high 19 assists and added four digs and two service aces to her totals. Gower collected 16 digs and Claire Richey registered three blocks

NOTES
- Charleston swung for a .213 clip compared to .116 for the Phoenix.
- The Cougars extend their all-time series lead to 31-3.
- The loss snaps Elon's five-match win streak.
- Richey's three blocks mark a new career high.

Up Next
The two teams will meet again tomorrow for another 1 p.m. conference match.