After dropping the first set at the College of William & Mary, the Elon University volleyball charged back to win the second 25-22.
It went downhill from there, as the Phoenix lost 3-1 to the Tribe (25-14, 22-25, 25-9, 25-16) in Colonial Athletic Association action on Saturday, Oct. 4 in Williamsburg, Va.
Freshman outside hitter Sydney Busa carried Elon, hammering down 13 kills (10 in the first two sets) while also recording 11 digs.
Elon went up early in the second set before William & Mary tied it at 12-12 and then rallied off four more points to go up 16-12. An 8-2 run powered by two aces from junior outside hitter Megan Gravley put Elon up 20-18 before three kills from Busa helped the Phoenix seal the set.
The Tribe asserted its dominance in the third and fourth sets, capitalizing off a number of Elon errors. Dessi Koleva couldn't be stopped at the net, tallying 17 kills while hitting .368. She also had 13 digs.
Sara Zumbach led the William & Mary defense with 29 digs to contain the Elon hitters. The Tribe finished with 90 total digs.
Redshirt freshman setter Sydel Curry had 25 assists for Elon. Senior Chanelle Smith had 19 digs in her second game as libero, filling in the for injured Morgan Maner. Curry had 12 digs, while Busa and Gravley had 11 and 10, respectively.
Elon falls to 5-14 and 0-4 in the CAA. The Phoenix will be at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Tuesday in nonconference action.