PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Elon volleyball team fell to Duquesne in straight sets, 3-0 (18-25, 15-25, 14-25), on Friday evening in its second match of the Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Classic at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Anna Sewell led the Phoenix (2-4) offensively with nine kills, while
Cameron Lanier and
Allie Schultz added eight apiece.
Catherine Rucker contributed five kills while hitting .500 for the match.
Kayla Palmer directed the Elon attack with 20 assists, followed by
April Rice with 12.
Defensively,
Casey Brower recorded a team-high 10 digs, while Lanier added four. Palmer also had two service aces for the Phoenix.
Duquesne (5-0) was led by Emersen Schrom's match-high 15 kills and five service aces. Londyn Stone added nine kills, while Simone Searles finished with eight. Chloe Wilmot had 32 assists for the Dukes.
THE RUNDOWN
- The opening set was tightly contested, with neither team able to create more than a two-point advantage through the early portion of the frame. After an Elon service error gave Duquesne an 11-9 lead, the Phoenix responded with three straight points to take its first lead of the set, 12-11, following a Lanier kill. The Dukes answered to take a 15-13 advantage into the media timeout, but Elon trimmed its deficit to one at 16-15. Duquesne then used a 3-0 run to extend its lead to 19-15 and force a Phoenix timeout. The Dukes won the race to 20, taking a 20-16 advantage, and carried that momentum to a 25-18 victory in the opening set.
- Elon fell behind 7-4 early in the second set before Duquesne extended its advantage to 11-6, forcing a Phoenix timeout. The Dukes maintained a five-point lead at the media timeout, 15-10, before continuing to pull away. Duquesne pushed its advantage to double digits at 21-11 following a service ace. The Phoenix answered with consecutive points to trim the deficit to eight, 21-13, but the Dukes held off the push and closed out the frame with a 25-15 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
- The Phoenix fell behind 4-0 to open the third set before Lanier put Elon on the board with a kill. Schultz followed with another kill to trim the deficit to two, 4-2, but Duquesne answered with a 6-1 run to extend its lead to 10-3. The Dukes carried a 15-6 advantage into the media timeout and continued to pull away, eventually taking a 21-9 lead. Elon responded with a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to nine, 23-14, but Duquesne scored the final two points to secure a 25-14 victory and complete the sweep.
UP NEXT
- Elon closes out the tournament on Saturday, facing Eastern Michigan in a neutral-site match. First serve is scheduled at 12 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.
STAY POSTED
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-- ELON --
