CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team jumped out to an early one-set lead Saturday against Charleston Southern but could not hold on as the Buccaneers came from behind to hand the Phoenix a 3-1 loss on the final day of the Charlotte Invitational.
Elon 1, Charleston Southern 3 (25-22, 21-25, 11-25, 18,25)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Neither team could build separation early in the first set, but after falling behind 12-11, the Phoenix went on a 7-2 run with a string of kills and attack errors from the Buccaneers. The Phoenix did not look back as kills from Cameron Lanier and Lindsey Harris put the team up 22-20. Keira Kasten then added a kill to the board to extend the lead. With two more attacking errors from Charleston Southern, Elon was able to close out the first set 25-22.
- Charleston Southern came out strong in the second set, going up 7-3, but the Phoenix rallied back to tie the set at 11. The Buccaneers scored nine out of the next 12 points to pull ahead 20-14.
- The Buccaneers jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the third set, which gave them enough momentum to eventually close the set 25-11.
- The fourth set saw a similar pattern, with neither team breaking away early on in the set. Elon snagged a one-point 9-8 lead with a block from Kyla Johnson and Sydney Love. Charleston Southern then settled in, going on a 6-1 run to pull ahead 14-9. The Phoenix put together a late rally but could not overcome the deficit and lost 25-18.
NOTES
- Love led Elon with 14 kills and was third on the team in digs with nine. Lanier finished with 10 kills and Kasten had seven.
- Johnson recorded her first career block and lead the team alongside Love with three.
- Jessica Parker's 20 assists and Ericka Link's 14 assists were tournament bests for both players.
- Jordan Gower had her second 20-dig performance of the tournament, tallying 23 digs. Shannon O'Laughlin also added 13 digs.
- Harris and Caroline Doyle both recorded aces on the match.
- Lily Barker tallied five kills as she reached at least five in a match for the second time in her career.
- Elon's 15 kills in the opening set were the most for the team in a set this weekend.
- As a team, Elon's 46 kills, 39 assists and 62 digs were all tournament-bests.
FROM COACH MARY TENDLER
"Today was a tough loss after winning that first set. We struggled, particularly at the end, to find some rhythm offensively against a very good defensive team. We know what we need to do to get better and we look forward to a full week of practice before our tournament next weekend."
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Elon: Sydney Love
Coastal: Jaylen Stout
CSU: Giada Pais-Maiden
CSU: Angelika Rusin
Charlotte: Annika Thompson
Charlotte: Lara Kretschmer
Charlotte: Sophie Whalen (MVP)
UP NEXT
- Elon will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to compete in the Wofford Invitational next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1-2.
- The Phoenix will play a pair of matches on Friday, facing Georgia State at 12:30 p.m. before taking on South Carolina State at 4:30 p.m.
- The maroon and gold concludes the tournament on Saturday against tournament host Wofford in a 1 p.m. matchup.
-- ELON --
