Elon 3, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The last time the Elon University volleyball team completed a season sweep of the UNC Greensboro Spartans was 2005. But three hard-fought sets gave the Phoenix a match sweep, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21), on the road tonight and on the season. With the win, Elon improves to 17-13 on the season and to 8-5 in Southern Conference play. UNCG now drops to 19-9 on the year and 7-6 in SoCon play.
Lemke, a junior, led the Phoenix with 13 kills for a .385 attack percentage. Seniors Sarah Schermerhorn and Lauren Copenhagen contributed nicely with nine and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore Allison Johnson also added to the attack with eight kills of her own. The team recorded four service aces on the night and kept the Spartans from earning any of their own.
The Phoenix defensive attack was spread evenly among junior Megan McMahon, sophomore Ali Deatsch and Copenhagen as the trio recorded 34 digs between them.
Elon took an early 7-3 advantage in the opening set, but the Spartans were able to tie it up at 11-all. UNCG then took a two-point advantage at 14-12 before the Phoenix answered with a five-point run that gave Elon back the lead by three at 17-14. With the set at 20-all, the score moved between a one-point Elon advantage and a tie. After a kill from Schermerhorn made it a 23-22 Phoenix advantage, Elon took the last two points and the first set win, 25-22.
In the second set, the teams kept it very even with 11 ties and seven lead changes before the Phoenix grabbed a slight 13-12 edge. Kills from Schermerhorn and Copenhagen helped Elon finish off a 4-1 run to go up 17-13. However, the Spartans fought back with a four-point run to tie it up at 17-all. The Phoenix once again jumped ahead of UNCG 19-17 off a service ace from Copenhagen. Elon enjoyed at least a two-point cushion until the Spartans cut it to one with the score at 24-23. Off UNCG's serve, a set from Stewart led to a Lemke kill that gave the Phoenix a sideout for the 25-23 set win and the 2-0 match lead.
Elon was able to carry the momentum it had built during the first two sets after the break and raced out to a 9-4 lead early in the third set. After a four-point Spartan rally narrowed Elon's advantage to one point at 9-8, the Phoenix recorded four of the next five points to take a 12-9 lead. With the score at 18-15 in favor of Elon, McMahon recorded a kill to make it a four-point lead for the Phoenix and force the Spartans to call a timeout. After the score moved to a 22-16 Elon lead, UNCG refused to be swept easily and went on a 3-1 run to pull to within three at 22-19. However, the Phoenix attack proved too much for the Spartans as Elon scored three of the last five points to take the final set, 25-21, and earn the sweep.
Elon will return to action tomorrow, Nov. 5, at Wofford for a 7 p.m. match-up. The Spartans will turn around on Saturday and travel to Furman to face the Paladins at 7 p.m.
College of Charleston 3, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Senior Whitney Russell recorded a double-double and freshman Madelyn McGinnis hit .500 with nine kills as the College of Charleston volleyball team won their ninth consecutive conference match with a 3-0 win over the Davidson Wildcats Friday night (25-19, 25-22, 25-19).
The Cougars (24-5, 12-1) got off to a quick start as they hit .419 in the first set, led by five kills from junior Elyse Chubb. Although Davidson (15-15, 6-7) hit .303 In the first set, the CofC defense clamped down for the rest of the match, limiting the Wildcats to a .128 hitting percentage in the second set and just .057 in the third.
Defensively four different Cougars had at least three blocks, led by four a piece from Chubb and fellow junior Sarah Havel. The Cougars forced Davidson into 19 errors for the match.
In the third set, before either team could get to 11 points, there were eight ties. The game went back and fourth until CofC, with the score 13-14 used a 5-0 run to open up the set and eventually clinch the match on one of Russell's 10 kills. Russell also added 11 digs for the match.
Having secured their 17th victory in 18 matches the Cougars face a true test tomorrow as they battle Georgia Southern, a team that hasn't lost at home this season and has won 18 of their last 19 matches. The Cougars and Eagles are virtually deadlocked for first-place in the conference with CofC holding a 12-1 mark and Georgia Southern 11-1 in conference play.
The match will be played Saturday in Statesboro, Ga., at 7p.m.
Davidson will return to action tomorrow, hosting The Citadel at 7 p.m. on Senior Night in Belk Arena. Seniors Jorden Benedict, Anna Bradbury, Jennifer Chamblee, Hayley Lawson and Sarabeth Peele will be honored in pregame festivities.
Georgia Southern 3, The Citadel 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - Citadel senior Blaine McAllister, playing in her home state for the final time in her career, was the bright spot for The Citadel Volleyball team, finishing with a team-high five kills, in a 25-16, 25-12, 25-13 loss to Georgia Southern.
Teammates Amanda Beal and Alexa Dahlstrom joined McAllister up front by contributing four kills apiece. Tatum Jestila led the Bulldogs defensively with seven digs, while teammate Erin Bucherl chipped in four. Bucherl also dished out a team-best 11 assists. The Citadel is now 6-22 overall and 1-12 in Southern Conference play.
As for the Eagles, who finished with a .487 attack percentage, the tandem of Parker Small (13 kills) and Hannah Nelson (12 kills) proved to make the difference. Bethany Small added seven kills to give Georgia Southern a 42-22 edge up front. The Eagles limited themselves to five errors. Ashley Roe, who notched a match-high 10 digs, and Kate Van Dyke (9 digs) made the impact defensively for GSU. Van Dyke sparked the Eagles offense with 34 assists and shared a match-high in three assisted blocks with Small. Georgia Southern leaves the match with a 22-7 overall record and is now 12-1 in conference play.
The opening set endured 11 ties, the last coming at 11-11, before Georgia Southern pieced together a 9-4 run to grab a 20-15 lead following a Citadel attack error. After a Bulldogs timeout, GSU allowed one point in the 25-16 victory. They carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 10-2 advantage behind Lauren LaRocque's service game. The lead stretched to 21-10 before Jestila sent a service ace for one to the final two points in the 25-12 set loss.
Georgia Southern closed out the match with a strong third game that included at least four points each in the service games of Nelson, Small and Roe. Small added a game best six kills to complete the sweep, 25-13.
The Cadets complete the road portion of their schedule when they square off against the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.