Elon University Athletics

ELON – The Elon volleyball team fell to College of Charleston in its CAA-opener in straight sets, 3-0 (18-25, 15-25, 22-25), on Saturday at Schar Center.
 
Cameron Lanier led the Phoenix (3-8, 0-1 CAA) offense with a team-high 10 kills, while Anna Sewell added seven. Allie Schultz finished with five kills, while Catherine Rucker and Caroline Berlekamp contributed four apiece. Rucker hit a team-best .300 for the match.
 
Kayla Palmer paced Elon with 16 assists, followed by April Rice with 15. The Phoenix recorded six total team blocks, including a solo block and three block assists from Rucker. Lanier also contributed a service ace.
 
Charleston (9-2, 1-0 CAA) was led by Gabby Tuiaana with a match-high 12 kills, followed by Julia Gnida with 10. Julie Nzambele added eight kills while hitting .400, while Helena Vukovic directed the Cougars' offense with 32 assists. Charleston hit .290 as a team for the match.
 
THE RUNDOWN

• The opening set remained close early, with Charleston holding a 9-7 advantage before a 4-1 run extended the Cougars' lead to 13-8. Elon responded with consecutive points, including a block from Rucker and Schultz, to pull within three at 13-10. Charleston answered and carried a 15-10 advantage into the media timeout. The Phoenix later trimmed its deficit to three, 19-16, following a Lanier service ace, but the Cougars responded with three straight points to push the margin to six, 22-16. Elon got back within five at 23-18 on an Sewell kill before Charleston scored the final two points to take the opening set, 25-18.
• Charleston opened the second set with four unanswered points, forcing an early Elon timeout. The Phoenix responded with three straight points, capped by a Rucker service ace, to pull within one at 4-3. The Cougars answered with a 6-1 run to extend their lead to 10-4 before eventually building a 14-6 advantage. Elon began to battle back, using a 4-1 run highlighted by a Lanier kill to trim the deficit to five, 15-10. The Phoenix later scored four straight points to cut Charleston's advantage to two, 18-16, with consecutive Sewell kills forcing a Cougars timeout. Charleston regained control from there, however, closing the frame on a 7-0 run to earn a 25-15 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Cougars jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in the third set before Elon answered with five of the next seven points to move ahead 6-5. Rucker helped spark the run with a solo block before combining with Schultz for another block. The teams remained tightly contested from there, playing to a 10-all tie before the Phoenix scored consecutive points to take a 12-10 advantage following a Rice kill. Charleston responded, but Elon regained the lead at 14-13 on a Lanier kill. The Cougars eventually moved back in front before the teams battled to a 20-all tie following a Berlekamp kill. Charleston scored the next two points to take a 22-20 advantage, but the Phoenix stayed within striking distance and pulled within one at 23-22 on a Lanier kill. The Cougars answered with the final two points, however, to take the set 25-22 and complete the sweep.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon will face the Cougars in a rematch tomorrow afternoon, with the first serve scheduled for 3 p.m. The match will stream on FloCollege.

 
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