After the loss against the College of Charleston Saturday, Sept. 22, Elon University’s varsity women’s volleyball team is now 0-2 in the Southern Conference with an overall record of 7-10.
The Phoenix fell to the Cougars in three sets, which follows a loss against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that went to a decisive final fifth set.
Both senior captain Ali Deatsch and head coach Mary Tendler said being consistent is something the team needs to work on as whole.
“We can be a tough team and we can fight,” Deatsch said. “But we have to learn how to sustain that energy, that fight and that fire.”
Tendler agreed and said the team does some really good things on the court, but the players need to keep the momentum when they get it.
“We are getting stuck in some rotations and when we do that, it is tough to dig our way out,” she said.
Charleston had some tough hitters that gave the Cougars some big momentum kills.
Junior Darcy Dorton had 13 kills for Charleston. Dorton transferred from Penn State University to CofC. While at Penn State, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2009 as she helped lead the Nittany Lions to a national championship.
Defending against such hitters as Dorton is something Deatsch said the team would be working on as well.
“What we are going to be working on a lot is the communication with the blockers and the defense behind them,” Deatsch said. “They need to trust that we will be behind them. If we are out of position, they’ll be there to get the block for us, and if they don’t completely close we’ll be there.”
The Phoenix will be away this weekend playing Western Carolina University on Friday, Sept. 28 and Appalachian State University on Saturday, Sept. 29.