ELON, N.C. — The Elon University volleyball team swept Western Carolina Friday evening in the opening match of the Volley for Unity Tournament at Schar Center.
Elon 3, Western Carolina 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set went back and forth, featuring eight ties and 10 lead changes. With the score tied at 14, the Phoenix went on a 5-0 run fueled by back-to-back aces from Lindsey Harris, a block and kill from Sydney Love and a Catamount error. With the Phoenix lead at five, Western Carolina only scored five more points as Elon secured the first set, 25-19.
- Following a similar pattern, neither team could gain much breathing room early in the second. Tied at 18 all, the Phoenix went on a 3-0 run with a block from Caroline Berlekamp and a pair of kills from Cameron Lanier and Clara LaRue to put the score at 21-18. The Phoenix secured the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead on the Catamounts.
- The Phoenix came out hot in the third and went up 19-12 late in the set, but the Catamounts put together a late run winning eight of the next eleven points to get within two. That would be as close as they would get, and Elon came away with its first home win of the season.
NOTES
- LaRue paced the Phoenix with nine kills followed by Lanier with seven.
- Berlekamp tallied a career-high six blocks and matched her career-high in kills with five.
- Jessica Parker captured her first career double-double with a career-high in assists (21) and digs (11).
- Gower continued to pace the Phoenix with 15 digs while Caroline Doyle added seven.
- Lindsey Harris tallied a career-high four aces. Doyle added three, her fifth match of the season with an ace.
- Elon overpowered Western Carolina in aces (9-1), blocks (9-8), and digs (51-49).
FROM HEAD COACH MARY TENDLER
"The fans were incredible! Not only did they show up, but they were very vocal cheering us on. The Volleyball Pep Band and the cheerleaders really created an awesome atmosphere that helped us get the win. I'm very proud of this team for how they defended our home court tonight."
UP NEXT
-- ELON --
