The Elon women’s volleyball team suffered a pair of losses on Saturday at the Radford/Virginia Tech Invite. The Phoenix lost to the host teams after falling to Washington State on Friday.
In its first match of the day, the Phoenix lost to Virginia Tech in three consecutive sets. The Phoenix contested early, leading 9-8 before the Hokies pulled away to win the first set, 25-20. Elon was never able to recover from the deficit, dropping the next two games 25-17 and 25-11, respectively.
Senior outside hitter Megan Gravley anchored the Phoenix’s efforts with five kills, an ace and a block. Sophomore setter Sydel Curry finished the game with 19 assists, and freshman defensive specialist Maddie Jaudon led the team with 10 digs. The Hokies stifled Elon’s offensive efforts, holding the Phoenix to 32 total points over three sets.
Game number two against Radford proved to be more eventful. The Phoenix swiped the first two sets from the Highlanders 25-23 and 25-13. But Radford fought back into the game, winning games three and four 25-20. Game five was hard fought, with neither team leading by more than three points. Elon led 10-8 before the Highlanders took control, ending the set on a 7-3 run and securing the victory.
Against Radford, Gravley finished with 14 kills, and sophomore outside hitter Sydney Busa had 10. Curry ended the game with a whooping 41 assists, and the Phoenix had three players with double digit assist totals- Jaudon with 26, Busa with 13 and Curry with 12. The Phoenix finished with six total aces from four different players.
The losses drop the Phoenix to 0-3 on the young season, going winless in the tournament. Elon returns to the court on Sept. 1, when the Phoenix journey to High Point, N.C., to take on High Point University at 7 p.m.