Elon University Athletics

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team bounced back in the series finale against UNCW with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-16) victory on Saturday afternoon at Hanover Hall.
 
The Phoenix improved to 10-12 overall and 7-5 in CAA play, while the Seahawks moved to 11-12 overall and 5-5 in conference action.
 
Anna Sewell led a balanced Elon attack with seven kills on 15 swings while hitting .333. Cameron Lanier added six kills and collected a team-high 10 digs, while Allie Schultz and Catherine Rucker finished with five kills apiece. Rucker also led the Phoenix with three service aces and added two block assists.
 
April Rice turned in an efficient afternoon with four kills on five attacks for a .600 hitting percentage while adding nine assists. Kayla Palmer paced the Phoenix with 14 assists and eight digs.
 
For UNCW, Nadia Wasilewski and Elaina Murphy each recorded nine kills, while Sam Vanda added seven. Gaby Zovko dished out a match-high 28 assists, and Annie Harney finished with a match-high 13 digs.
 
THE RUNDOWN

• Elon scored the first two points of the opening set and used a 5-0 run to turn a 6-all tie into an 11-6 advantage. Lanier and Rucker recorded kills during the stretch, while the Phoenix also took advantage of three UNCW attack errors. Elon continued to build its lead and carried a 15-8 advantage into the media timeout before stretching the margin to 19-10. The Seahawks made a late push and eventually pulled within three at 24-21, but Schultz answered with a kill on the next point to close out the 25-21 victory.
• UNCW scored the first two points of the second set before Elon responded and built an 8-4 advantage behind kills from Sewell, Rice, Casey Brower and Lanier. The Seahawks answered with an 8-1 run to move ahead 12-9 and eventually carried a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Elon began to work its way back, using three straight points to trim the deficit to 16-14 before eventually pulling even at 18-all. After UNCW briefly regained a 19-18 lead, the Phoenix scored five of the next six points. Lindsey Murphy and Brower each delivered service aces during the stretch to give Elon a 23-20 advantage. UNCW pulled within one at 23-22, but Rice and Rucker combined for a block before Schultz finished the set with a kill for the 25-22 victory.
• The teams traded the first four points of the third set before Elon took control with six unanswered points to build an 8-2 advantage. Rucker recorded two service aces during the run, while Sewell added a kill and Berlekamp and Schultz teamed up for a block. The Phoenix continued to maintain separation and carried a 15-9 lead into the media timeout following a Schultz kill. Elon later pushed its advantage to 18-12 behind a Schultz kill and a Shannon O'Laughlin service ace. A Murphy ace extended the margin to 21-14 before Brower added another ace to make it 23-15. Lanier gave the Phoenix match point with a kill, and Rucker finished off the 25-16 victory with a kill to complete the sweep.

 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Elon finished with eight service aces, tying its third-highest total of the season. Rucker led the Phoenix with three, while Brower and Murphy each added two.
• Lanier finished with 10 digs, giving her 400 digs for her career. She entered Saturday with 390 career digs.
• Murphy's two service aces matched her career high, which she had previously reached twice this season.
• Elon limited UNCW to a .042 hitting percentage in the third set, forcing six attack errors while allowing only seven kills.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon returns to Schar Center on Oct. 30-31 to host Campbell in its final CAA home series.

 
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