ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball could not make it three wins in a row as the Phoenix (3-4) dropped its home opener to UNC Charlotte, 3-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 8 at Schar Center.

"UNC Charlotte played well and we were not able to match their level of play tonight," said head coach Mary Tendler. "We tried a lot of different things to slow them down, but it was not enough. We have a quick turnaround with our next match on Friday. I know this team will bounce back in a positive way."
 
Elon 0, Charlotte 3 (22-25, 22-25, 19-25)
THE RUNDOWN
Set One remained close in the early going as a Sydney Love kill from Haylie Clark evened the score at 7-7. After a 4-0 run allowed the 49ers (5-2) to pull ahead 13-8, Jordan Gower set up Clark for a point and Leah Daniel followed with another two kills. Alex VanWestrienen then served an ace, Charlotte committed an attack error, and Clark and Jenn Krzeminski made a block as Elon pulled ahead, 14-13. With the set tied at 22-22 late, the visitors earned the next three points for the 1-0 overall lead.
 
Charlotte built an early 7-3 advantage at the start of Set Two before kills from Kellyn Trowse and Natalie Cummins closed the gap at 7-6. The 49ers created some separation at 17-10, but another four kills by Cummins highlighted a 5-0 Elon response as the Phoenix pulled to within 18-17. Daniel followed her own kill with an ace and Love added a point to put the maroon and gold in front 20-19, but five unanswered points led to another 25-22 decision for the 49ers.
 
After trailing 11-6 in the third set, Clark assisted Love to trim the Charlotte lead to 15-14. However, a 6-1 swing by the 49ers proved to be too much to overcome as the guests went up 21-15. The sides then traded points the rest of the way as Charlotte held on for the 25-19 final.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Love and Cummins led the Elon attack with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Clark ended up with 25 assists while Daniel contributed six kills with two service aces. Krzeminski tallied four blocks with one solo, Clark followed with two blocks, and Daniel secured the team's other block. Gower had a team-high 15 digs and VanWestrienen was next with six.
 
NOTES
- Charlotte extends its lead in the all-time series to 9-7.
- The match featured 19 ties and eight lead changes, to include 14 ties in the first set.
- The 49ers edged the Phoenix in points (59.0-47.0), kills (42-38), blocks (12-4) and assists (38-31). Elon collected more digs (37-35) and both teams served five aces.
- Clark is now just two assists shy of 1,200 for her career.
- Gower eclipsed 600 career digs tonight. She entered the match needing two to reach the mark.
- The 11 kills ties a career best for Cummins and is the third time she has scored that many. She finished with 11 kills in the win over James Madison on March 24 this past spring and also had 11 kills versus Virginia Tech on Sept. 6, 2019 at the Liberty Invitational.
- Cummins converted 11-of-13 attempts with just one attack error for a .769 hitting percentage.
- Love's 12 kills ties her season high. She also ended up with 12 kills in Elon's straight-set win at Furman last Saturday.

UP NEXT
Elon and North Carolina A&T will co-host the Aggie/Phoenix Volley for Unity Tournament this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11. Elon opens against UNC Asheville on Friday at 6 p.m., while the Aggies will host N.C. Central for a 6 p.m. match in Greensboro, N.C. Saturday's matches will be played at Schar Center. Mercer and A&T begin at 12 p.m., with Asheville and NCCU in the following match at 3 p.m. The Phoenix then concludes the tournament with a 6 p.m. meeting with the Bears.