ELON – The Elon volleyball team battled back to take the third set but fell to Davidson in four frames, 3-1 (14-25, 22-25, 25-20, 17-25), on Friday night at Schar Center.
Anna Sewell paced the Phoenix (2-7) offense with a match-high 15 kills while hitting .216.
Cameron Lanier added 11 kills, while
Catherine Rucker finished with six.
April Rice recorded a team-high 16 assists, followed by
Kayla Palmer with 14.
Defensively,
Lindsey Murphy led Elon with 15 digs, while
Casey Brower added 11. The Phoenix finished with nine total team blocks, highlighted by
Caroline Berlekamp's presence at the net with four blocks.
Davidson (3-4) was led by Elena Garcia-Guerrios, who finished with 17 kills and 11 digs. Ngodoo Harris and Meile Songaila added eight kills apiece, while Kinsey Smith directed the Wildcats' offense with 18 assists. Davidson recorded 15 total team blocks in the match.
THE RUNDOWN
- The opening set was tied at 3-all before Davidson used a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 advantage and force an Elon timeout. The Phoenix responded with consecutive kills from Anna Sewell and Caroline Berlekamp to trim the deficit to three, 8-5, but the Wildcats answered and extended their lead to 14-7. Elon continued to battle, pulling within six at 17-11 following a Berlekamp kill, before Davidson pushed its advantage to double figures at 21-11. The Phoenix scored three of the next five points to cut the deficit to nine, 23-14, but the Wildcats closed out the frame with a 25-14 victory.
- The teams played evenly early in the second set before Davidson used an 8-2 run to take an 11-5 advantage. Elon began to chip away at the deficit, scoring three straight points behind an Sewell kill and a Cameron Lanier service ace to pull within three, 14-11. The Wildcats responded and eventually extended their lead to seven, 21-14, before pushing the advantage to 23-15. The Phoenix then mounted a late rally, scoring six unanswered points with Casey Brower at the service line to trim the deficit to two, 23-21. Lanier and Catherine Rucker capped the run with consecutive kills. Davidson halted the rally on the next point, and although a Lanier kill kept Elon alive at 24-22, the Wildcats closed out the frame on the following point for a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
- The teams traded points throughout the early portion of the third set before Elon broke a 9-9 tie with a 4-0 run to take a 13-9 advantage, capped by a Lanier kill. Davidson pulled within two at 13-11, but the Phoenix maintained its advantage and carried a 15-13 lead into the media timeout following a Berlekamp kill. Elon then pushed its lead to four, 19-15, on an Sewell kill. The Wildcats battled back to trim the deficit to one, 20-19, forcing a Phoenix timeout, but Sewell answered with a kill on the next point. Elon scored five of the final six points, closing the frame with consecutive blocks to earn a 25-20 victory and extend the match to a fourth set.
- Davidson opened the fourth set with a 3-0 lead before Elon battled back. The Phoenix erased the early deficit and took its first lead of the frame at 7-6 on a Lanier kill. The teams continued to trade points before the Wildcats used a 5-1 run to take a 13-9 advantage and force an Elon timeout. The Maroon and Gold responded with five of the next seven points, with a Sewell-Rucker block followed by a Davidson attack error tying the set at 15-all. Davidson regained control from there, using a 4-0 run to take a 19-15 lead. After a Sewell kill stopped the run, the Wildcats scored six of the final seven points to claim a 25-17 victory and secure the match.
UP NEXT
- Elon is back in action tomorrow, hosting USC Upstate at 6 p.m. The match will stream on FloCollege.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon volleyball, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonVB) and Instagram (@ElonVB).
-- ELON --
