Courtesy: Elon Volleyball
ELON, N.C. – After matches against Duke, Kansas, High Point, and UNCG were cancelled last week due to Hurricane Florence, Elon University volleyball has added a match to its schedule and now returns to the court Tuesday, Sept. 18, to host North Carolina. Elon will square off with the Tar Heels at 7 p.m. in Schar Center.
SERIES HISTORY
-Tuesday marks the eighth meeting between the two squads. The match is also the first since 1979 and the first since Elon moved to the NCAA Division I level.
-The Phoenix won both matches in 1972 as well as the first meeting in 1974, but the Tar Heels claimed the next four meetings and own a 4-3 lead in the series.
LAST TIME OUT
–Kam Terry picked up her second consecutive CAA Offensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 10 as Elon split its matches on the final day of the Wake Forest Invitational. The senior outside hitter was just shy of tying the program record for kills in a match with 32 against Georgia Southern. She added seven digs and three blocks to her totals as Elon posted a 3-1 decision.
–Isabella Seman set a career high with 17 digs, Kodi Garcia contributed 43 assists, and Maddie Jaudon added 10 digs in the win over the Eagles.
PERFECT STARTS
-Under head coach Mary Tendler, Elon opened its 2018 campaign 7-0 for the fifth time in program history. It marks the team’s best start since the Phoenix went 11-0 in 2009.
-The 7-0 streak is the second-best start during Tendler’s tenure at Elon. It surpasses a pair of 5-0 starts in 2010 and 2011.
-Susan Leonard’s 1993 team owns the program’s best start to a season at 21-0. The following year the team opened 12-0 to place second, followed by Tendler’s 2009 squad.
-Kay Yow’s 1974 team started off 7-0 before suffering its first defeat.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAMS
– Jaudon was named Co-MVP of the Charlotte Invitational after averaging 4.92 digs per set over the course of the three matches. She was also named to the Phoenix Classic All-Tournament Team.
– Kelly Trowse was also named to the All-Tournament Team after posting two matches with double-digit kills with at least seven digs and three blocks in all three matches.
– Terry was named the Phoenix Classic MVP for the second-straight season after posting a pair of double-doubles against Evansville and Gardner-Webb.
– Leah Daniel earned a spot on the Phoenix Classic All-Tournament Team after closing the weekend with an 18-kill, 4-error performance for a .350 hitting percentage against Gardner-Webb.
CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
– Terry was named CAA Player of the Week for the second week in a row Monday, Sept. 10, for her performance at the Wake Forest Invitational. The Marengo, Ohio native averaged 21.0 kills per set and finished with 63 kills through three matches. Against Georgia Southern, she came within one kill of tying the program record for kills in a match with 32.
– Terry previously earned the distinction on Monday, Sept. 3 after averaging 4.23 kills per set with a .296 hitting percentage in matches against North Carolina A&T, Evansville, N.C. Central, and Garder-Webb.
1K Kills
-Terry reached 1,000 kills for her career in the first set against Charlotte on Friday, Aug. 24.
-With 1,132 career kills, the senior has taken the number 10 spot in Elon’s all-time leaders in the category.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
–Kodi Garcia was named one of 10 student-athletes to the Preseason All-CAA Team as an honorable mention.
-It marks the second straight season an Elon player has been named a preseason honorable mention after Sydney Busa earned the distinction and went on to be a First Team All-CAA honoree after the year in 2017.
-Garcia had 1,279 assists in 2017, tying for the most in a season in Elon’s Division I era and the second-most in program history on the way to earning CAA Rookie of the Year.
ITALIAN MADE
-Over Spring Break 2018, Elon volleyball went to Italy to visit Milan, Como, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, Assisi and Rome.
-During the trip, the team visited Lake Como, the tiny villages that form the Five Lands “Cinque Terre,” the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Basilica of Saint Francis, the Colosseum, the Vatican City and more.
-It also battled a pair of professional Italian volleyball teams.
THE SYDEL CURRY LOCKER ROOM
-Between the second and third sets Tuesday, Aug. 28, against North Carolina A&T, Elon volleyball’s locker room was named in honor of Sydel Curry ’17.
-An early wedding gift from her brothers, Steph and Seth Curry, the team’s new locker room has officially been named the Sydel Curry Locker Room. Sydel walked down the isle four days later in North Carolina.
UP NEXT
-Elon opens CAA play on the road this weekend, starting with a 7 p.m. match at the College of Charleston this Friday, Sept. 21. The Phoenix then head to Wilmington, N.C., for a 1 p.m. contest at UNCW on Sunday, Sept. 23.
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