GREENSBORO, NC The UNC Greensboro volleyball team lost its second Southern Conference match on Tuesday night as Elon defeated the Spartans, 3-1 at Fleming Gymnasium.
Branagan Fuller continues to pace UNCG (11-9, 4-2 SoCon) on the offensive side of the ball and tallied a match-high 21 kills and 12 digs, marking the seventh time this season the Murietta, CA native has tallied double-digit kills.
Katherine Hart and Kaitlyn Nortz also tallied double-digit kills with 13 and 12, respectively. Catherine Hanners recorded 28 digs in the loss while setters Lisa Fawell and Kimiko Naito both dished out double-digit assists with 33 and 22, respectively.
Elon (9-10, 4-2 SoCon) had three players with double-digit kills and was led by Mandy Wilson who tallied a team-high 14 kills. Emily Lucci recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs while Lauren Copenhagen also contributed with 10 kills.
The Spartans seemed to have game one decided after taking an early 17-9 lead. UNCG extended its lead to 20-12 before the Phoenix called a timeout. Elon responded with three straight points to cut the lead to 20-15 but UNCG used kills from Fuller and Hart to push the game to game point at 29-26. Four unforced errors by the Spartans gave Elon a 30-29 lead and two more errors saw Elon come from behind and take game one, 32-30.
Game two was much closer throughout and saw seven ties in the first few minutes of the game. Elon was able to take a 10-8 lead but UNCG battled back to tie it at 13-13 but they would play from behind from that point on as unforced errors gave Elon the game, 30-28 and a 2-0 match lead.
After the intermission the Spartans were able to rebound and opened with a 4-1 run in game three and never looked back. The Spartans were able to push their lead to 17-10 midway through the game fueled by kills from Fuller and freshman Kayren Finney. Elon got as close as 24-17 but UNCG was able to take the game, 30-20 and cut the lead to 2-1
The Spartans trailed from the outset of the fourth game and couldn't match Elon's momentum as they saw the Phoenix go up 17-8 early. UNCG was able to get as close as 15-21 but again too many errors cost the Spartans the match as Elon took the final game, 30-23.
UNCG welcomes SoCon rival, Appalachian State to Fleming Gymnasium on Saturday night. First serve is set for 7 pm.
AGATE
ELON def. UNCG 32-30, 30-28, 20-30, 30-23
ELON ((9-10, 4-2 SoCon)) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Mandy Wilson 14-0-0;Emily Lucci 11-1-5; Lauren Copenhagen 10-1-4; Sarah Schermerhorn 6-1-2; Britany Westphal 5-0-1; Jessica Barrow 5-0-0; Natalie Moore 1-1-1; Emily Regan 1-0-1; Kelley Blakewood 0-1-0; Totals 53-5-9.0. (Assists) - Natalie Moore 23; Emily Regan 22. (Dig leaders) Kelley Blakewood 22; Emily Lucci 15; Emily Regan 10
UNCG ((11-9, 4-2 SoCon)) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 21-0-0; Katherine Hart 13-3-2; Kaitlyn Nortz 12-2-6; Kayren Finney 9-0-1; Emily Lindborg 6-0-1; Billi Baker 4-0-2; Kimiko Naito 1-1-0; Lisa Fawell 1-0-2; Lauren Keiser 1-1-0; Catherine Hanners 0-2-0; Totals 68-9-8.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 33; Kimiko Naito 22. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 28; Branagan Fuller 12; Lauren Keiser 9
- UNCG -
