Elon volleyball had two big Southern Conference wins this weekend with a 3-2 victory over Wofford College Oct. 19 and a 3-1 victory over Furman Oct. 20.

The Phoenix dropped the first set against Wofford then battled back to tie the game winning the second set.

Elon held during another tight set to win the third 25-23, but the Phoenix found themselves down by five for most of the fourth, and Wofford was able to stay alive with a fourth set win.

In the fifth and deciding set, Wofford took match point first 15-14, but the Phoenix defended two match points to tie the game 16-all. Elon sealed the match with a kill from freshman setter Chelsea Rafetto and a final kill by sophomore outside hitter Chanelle Smith to win the match 18-16 in the final set .

Smith led the team with 17 kills and also recorded 14 digs for the match.

On Saturday, Elon faced the SoCon’s top offensive team, Furman, who was coming off a 3-2 Friday win over the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Furman took the first set with a 25-17 win. But the Phoenix pulled away in the second after an eight-point run, including three aces from senior defensive specialist Ali Deatsch, giving Elon a nine-point lead. Elon was able to hold for a 25-18 win in the second set.

With strong blocks, consistent hitting and few service errors, the Phoenix took the third set 25-18 and  finished off Furman with a 25-20 fourth set win.

Deatsch said serving, and the lack of service errors, helped Elon keep its momentum throughout the matches.

“Friday, our serving was on point all night,” she said. “And that was something that really led us to victory. We knew we could use serving again.”

The Phoenix only had three service errors the entire Furman match.

Sophomore middle blocker Kris Harris, who finished with 17 kills and five blocks against Furman, agreed that momentum has been something the team has been working towards.

“We have been working on having that competitive drive throughout the whole match and wanting to have the will to win the whole match,” Harris said. “I think the whole team just played amazingly this last game and this weekend.”

With these two wins, Elon is now 5-5 in the SoCon and 12-13 overall for the season.

Deatsch said she hopes this momentum holds for the rest of the season.

“We have big goals, and it’s looking really promising,” she said. “We have been playing well, and I don’t want to jinx us, but I think we are going to peak at the right time.”