ELON – The Elon volleyball team is back on the road this week as the Phoenix (9-11, 6-4 CAA) heads to UNCW (10-11, 4-4 CAA) for a two-match series at Hanover Hall.
 
WEEKEND SCHEDULE

• Friday, Oct. 23 – at UNCW at 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 24 – at UNCW at 2 p.m.

 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX

• Live Stats – StatBroadcast
• Watch – FloCollege (Friday only)

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Intrastate rivals since 1976, Elon and UNCW have met 49 times going into the series this week. The Seahawks hold an overall 26-23 advantage all-time over the Phoenix, but Elon has won four straight in the matchup.
• Both teams played last season in Elon, with the Phoenix sweeping the Seahawks in a pair of matches at Schar Center. Elon won the opener in four sets before both teams battled in a five-set thriller in the finale.
• Anna Sewell paced the Phoenix offensively in that series with 30 kills at 3.33 kills per set. Cameron Lanier added 25 kills, including a career-high 18 in the finale.
• The Phoenix also took a pair of straight-set wins the last time it visited UNCW in 2024. Elon has won four straight matches at UNCW after going 0-6 in its first six trips to Wilmington as a CAA member.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Elon split its home CAA series against William & Mary last weekend, earning a 3-0 victory Friday before the Tribe responded with a straight-set win Saturday.
• Anna Sewell highlighted Friday's victory with 14 kills and only one error on 19 attacks, hitting .684. The performance was the second-best hitting percentage by an Elon player this season among matches with at least 12 kills.
• Cameron Lanier added 13 kills and a season-high 16 digs in the series opener, while Catherine Rucker totaled eight blocks and Allie Schultz added six.
• Elon's win in Friday's opener snapped a five-match losing streak in the series and marked the Phoenix's first victory over William & Mary since Sept. 24, 2022. The weekend split moved the all-time series to 14-14.

 
PHOENIX IN THE CAA RACE

• Elon enters the weekend third in the CAA standings with a 6-4 league record, trailing only undefeated College of Charleston (10-0) and Hofstra (9-1). UNCW is tied for fourth at 4-4 along with Towson, N.C. A&T and Campbell, with the Seahawks sitting two conference wins behind the Phoenix.
• The Phoenix has already surpassed its conference win total from each of the past two seasons, when Elon finished with five CAA victories in both 2024 and 2025.

 
FINDING ANOTHER GEAR IN CAA PLAY

• In CAA play, Elon is hitting .239, averaging 13.18 kills per set and holding opponents to a .170 attack percentage and 11.24 kills per set.
• Elon's CAA marks are improvements from the Phoenix's .206 overall attack percentage and 12.17 kills per set this season.
• Five different Phoenix players are averaging at least 1.76 kills per set in conference play, led by Lanier at 3.65 and Sewell at 3.03.

 
ROAD WARRIORS

• Elon is 6-2 in true road matches this season and has yet to lose a CAA road contest, posting a perfect 4-0 mark away from Schar Center in league play.
• The Phoenix has swept both of its previous conference road series, earning two wins apiece at Hampton and Northeastern.
• The Phoenix has been considerably more efficient offensively on the road, hitting .260 with 12.76 kills per set, compared with a .173 attack percentage and 11.75 kills per set at home. Elon also averages 11.66 assists per set on the road compared with 10.72 at Schar Center.

 
PHOENIX BY THE NUMBERS

• Lanier continues to pace the Elon offense with 255 kills, averaging 3.54 per set to rank third in the CAA. She has also produced a team-high 292 points at 4.06 per set and has recorded double-digit kills in 16 matches this season.
• Sewell ranks second on the team with 200 kills, averaging 2.82 per set. She has been even more productive in conference play, averaging 3.03 kills per set while hitting .246 against CAA opponents.
• Catherine Rucker has been Elon's most efficient attacker, hitting .333 with 124 kills. Her attack percentage ranks eighth in the CAA, and she has been even better in league play at .357 with 68 kills.
• Rucker has also emerged as Elon's top presence at the net with 74 total blocks, while Caroline Berlekamp has added 64. Berlekamp is also hitting .308 on the season, giving Elon two players ranked among the CAA's top 10 in attack percentage.
• Elon continues to use a balanced setter tandem. Kayla Palmer leads the Phoenix with 347 assists, while April Rice is close behind with 337. Palmer also leads Elon with 26 service aces.
• Casey Brower anchors the Phoenix back row with a team-high 213 digs, averaging 2.96 per set. Freshman Lindsey Murphy ranks second on the team in digs at 153 while averaging 2.13 digs per set.

 
MILESTONE WATCH

• Palmer enters the UNCW series just three assists shy of 1,000 for her career. The junior has totaled 997 assists over her three seasons with the Phoenix, including a team-high 347 this season.
• Lanier continues her pursuit of 1,000 career kills. The senior has totaled 932 kills and needs 68 more to become the next Phoenix to reach the milestone. She surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this month and currently leads Elon with 255 kills this season.
• Rucker surpassed 500 career points during the William & Mary series and enters the weekend with 511.5. The junior has also accumulated 343 career kills and 194 total blocks during her Elon career. Her 189 points this season are already approaching her career-high total of 199 from 2025.
• Sewell also reached a career milestone against William & Mary, surpassing 300 career kills. She enters the UNCW series with 317 kills, including 200 this season after recording 117 combined during her first two campaigns.

 
SCOUTING UNCW (10-11, 4-4 CAA)

• UNCW enters the weekend at 10-11 overall and 4-4 in CAA play. The Seahawks are coming off a pair of road losses at N.C. A&T, falling in straight sets on Oct. 16 before dropping a 3-1 decision the following day.
• The Seahawks have already doubled their overall win total from last season, when they finished 5-21, and have matched their 2025 conference win total of four victories. UNCW was predicted to finish 10^th in the 2026 CAA Preseason Poll.
• The Seahawks rank first in the CAA in service aces. Setter Gaby Zovko ranks second in the conference with 8.33 assists per set, while Sam Vanda is among the league leaders in service aces at 0.38 per set.

 
ELON AT A GLANCE

• The Phoenix is in its 55th season of volleyball and 28th campaign at the Division I level in 2026.
• Elon retained 11 letterwinners from last season, including several players who started at least one match. The Phoenix also welcomes four first-year athletes into the fold for 2026.
• Elon returns 54% of its kills, 98% of its assists, 66% of its digs and 57% of its points scored from 2025.
• Head coach Matt Troy is in his second season at the helm of the Phoenix volleyball program. Troy helped lead Elon to its best conference winning percentage since 2021 last season, highlighted by the Phoenix's first road win over perennial CAA power Towson since 2021.

 
UP NEXT

• The Phoenix is back in Schar Center next weekend, Oct. 30-31, hosting Campbell in its final CAA home series.

 
STAY POSTED

• For further coverage of Elon volleyball, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonVB) and Instagram (@ElonVB).