CHARLESTON – The Elon University volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat at College of Charleston on Saturday afternoon at TD Arena, falling 14-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-25.
 
Elon (7-19, 5-10 CAA) finished with 38 kills, led by sophomore Anna Sewell's match-high 14. Simrin Carlsen added 14 digs and was one kill shy of a double-double with nine. Catherine Rucker contributed five total blocks and a pair of service aces.
 
Charleston (17-9, 11-4 CAA) was paced by Deanna Dollar's 13 kills, followed by Izzy Marinelli with 12. Lauren Dow tallied 32 assists for the Cougars.
 
THE RUNDOWN

• Charleston jumped ahead 8-3 to open the match before Elon responded to cut the deficit to 10-7. An Elon point made it 11-8, but the Cougars answered with a 5-0 run to double their lead to 16-8. Charleston extended its advantage to 20-12 and closed out the opening frame, 25-14, to take a 1-0 lead.
• Elon started fast in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead behind two early kills from Rucker. Charleston countered with a 7-2 run to move in front 8-7, but the Phoenix regained momentum with a 5-1 spurt to reclaim a 12-9 advantage on a Sewell kill. Elon pushed its lead to 15-10 to force a Charleston timeout and added another point out of the break. A 5-1 Cougar run pulled the hosts within two at 17-15, but the Phoenix responded with a 5-1 stretch of its own to go up 22-16. Charleston cut the margin to 23-20, but Elon secured the final two points for a 25-20 win to even the match.
• Charleston opened the third set with a 7-3 lead before Elon closed within two at 7-5. The Cougars were first to double digits at 10-6 and grew their lead to 13-8, prompting an Elon timeout. A kill by Lindsey Harris brought the Phoenix within 15-11, but a 3-0 Charleston push extended the deficit to 18-11 and forced a second Phoenix timeout. The Cougars reached set point at 24-14, but Elon mounted a late 7-0 rally to make it 24-21 before an attack error ended the run and gave Charleston the 25-21 win.
• The fourth set featured a back-and-forth start until Elon surged ahead 11-8 following consecutive kills from Sewell. Charleston responded with a 5-1 run to take a 13-12 lead. Elon tied the frame at 13-13, but the Cougars countered with seven unanswered points to build a 20-13 advantage. Charleston remained in control the rest of the way and closed the match with a 25-16 victory.

 
NOTES AND STATS

• Sewell notched her third straight double-digit kill match and is averaging 3.38 kills per set during that stretch.
• Casey Brower matched Carlsen for the team lead with 14 digs.
• Kayla Palmer recorded a team-high 18 assists, while April Rice added 14.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon concludes its season with a rematch against the Cougars tomorrow. First serve is set for 2 p.m.

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