North Carolina A&T (0-4) were swept by the Phoenix (1-3) at Alumni Gym, 20-25, 16-25, 23-25. Freshman Brooke Stamnes led the team with eight kills, and posted a .269 hitting percentage. Junior Jeana Daniels was perfect in the game, collecting four kills in four attempts. Freshman Ashley Johnson had her third double-digit digs contest, with 14.
The third set began much the same way as the second, with the teams trading points. A service error by Elon put A&T up, 16-15, and a block by Evans and Fox made it a two-point cushion. Elon tied the set back up at 17-17 and A&T called a timeout to strategize. Elon got the next two points out of the timeout. The Aggies fought back, and pulled within one at 22-21 on an attack error by Kris Harris. The Aggies tied up the game as an Elon committed a ball handling error. Two points away from match point, the Aggies collected the tying point at 23-23 after a long rally on an Elon attack error by Allison Johnson. But Elon collected the last two points to secure the victory.
But even with a strong scouting report, based on Clifton's six years with the Elon program, the match came down to execution.
In the first set, the Aggies fell behind by 14-6 before a kill by freshman Aleena McDaniel ended the Phoenix's eight-point run. A service ace by junior setter Chelsea Fox made it a 14-8 game. Stamnes collected her second kill of the match to bring the Aggies within seven points. The Aggies kept working to dig out of the early hole, but struggled to collect more than three consecutive points.
In the second set, A&T started off by winning the first three points on a kill by senior Andrea Evans and a service ace by Aleena McDaniel. The two teams tied the score a couple of times early. Elon took an 11-7 advantage, and then went on a 6-2 run. After a rally, Stamnes collected a kill to cut the lead to 18-10. With freshman libero Ashley Johnson serving, the Aggies collected another two points on back-to-back kills by Daniels. With the score 19-12, a kill by Stamnes pulled A&T within six points. But Elon kept the pressure on the Aggies and took the second set by a 25-16 final.
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