Elon grabs home victory against Citadel – Volleyball News
Elon volleyball team took advantage of familiar conditions and gave out a winning performance against the Citadel on Sunday, November 13. Elon Phoenix made a clean sweep and clinched success by posting 25-21, 25-14, 25-19 in a straight sets.
The better combination of attack and defence tactics enabled Phoenix to win the match and also earn a ticket to Southern Conference Volleyball Tournament, next week. Bulldogs failed to perform up to the mark and dropped their season closing game. They finished
the year with an overall record of 8-22, while Phoenix improved to 19-13 on the season and they still have the chance for further improvement.
Elon’s victory was credited to Freshman Chanelle Smith, who clipped 10 kills in the match.
Her teammates, Caroline Lemke and Traci Stewart contributed 9 kills, apiece, while senior Megan McMahon set the offense with 36 assists. Also, C. Smith together with Ali Deatsch, did a great job at serve aces.
On the other hand, Rachael Farrell, Ise d’Angelo, and Amanda Rudnik combined 18 kills for Bulldogs but it proved to be a failing effort and the team could not use if for its benefit.
In the first set, the Bulldogs came out of the gate and picked up quick lead of 5-2. However, the Elon ladies followed a perfect plan to catch up with the rivals. McMahon delivered an amazing ace, while Stewart and Celia Rose Eddy hit back to back shots
to put their team in lead, 8-5. The exchange of hard hits started out and both teams tried to take advantage. Bulldogs managed to steal some points and created the tie of scores at 14-all but could not stop Phoenix from taking the first set, 25-21.
Loss of opening set put pressure on the Bulldogs but they tried to remain calm and fought bravely. They played consistently and tied the score at 11-11. Meanwhile, C. Smith once again put the Phoenix up 12-11 and spurred a quick three-point run. Junior
Carly Ledbetter and Eddy also helped the home team to stay ahead of Bulldogs. Visitors could not break through the solid defence of Elon and got stuck at low points. They finished off the second set with only 14 points, while Phoenix extended lead to 2-0 by
achieving set points, 25-14.
With the confidence of victory in previous two sets, Elon made a strong opening in third set. They seemed fully prepared to put an end to the affair in third set and confirmed their ambition, later on. Earlier on, they came strong on the rival side and jumped
to 6-1 lead. Bulldogs closed the gap to three, 9-6, but Phoenix regained better position with 5-3 run. Elon further stretched the gap of points and converted 14-9 lead into 20-12. C. Smith hit the winning shot and led Phoenix to 3-0 win over the Citadel.
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