Box Score NCCU v. Elon
ELON, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) – Senior student-athletes Emanuelle Santos and freshman Dayanna Arrufat paced the Eagles with double-figure kills on Saturday, Sept. 17 in the four-set (25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-19) loss to Elon during the Elon Phoenix Classic.
In 12:30 p.m. matchup against the host Phoenix, Santos amassed 11 kills, while Arrufat finished with 12 kills.
The four-set loss had the energy of a championship match, with both squads fighting for each point and battling for every lead on 11 ties.
In set one of the match, Elon utilized tough serving and strong blocking to take a 5-1 lead, until the Eagles went on a run to tie the set at 8-8.
As the mighty maroon continued to improve their play, a kill by senior middle hitter Tasha-Gaye Richards put the Eagles ahead by one, 11-10. NCCU forced Elon to take a timeout as the lead went to three points with the Eagles on top with a score of 13-10.
Following the timeout, Elon regained the lead with three NCCU errors and a kill by freshman outside hitter Chanelle Smith, who finished the contest with 12 kills to lead the Phoenix.
A kill by senior Shantel Moore created the third tie of the set, 14-14. From that moment on NCCU and Elon went point-for-point until the final 23-23 tie, where an attack error by Santos and Arrufat made Elon the winner of set one.
The Eagles dominated set two from the first set, as sophomore setter Jzima-Malaki Kalao ran a play for Moore to seize a kill without a single Elon blocker. Arrufat followed Moore’s dominance by capturing two service aces on the Phoenix.
NCCU took as much as seven-point lead in the set with a score of 15-8 and forcing four consecutive Elon errors.
At the 20-12 mark, Elon went on a 4-1 run to break the margin. With the Eagles one point away from a set win, Elon managed to go another 4-1 run before NCCU sealed the 25-21 win.
Set three went to Elon from start to finish with NCCU hitting their lowest at negative 33 percent and unable to produce settable passes. Elon took the set 25-14.
The fourth and final set of the match was another fight to the finish with Arrufat finding a consistent hitting rhythm to lead the offense.
With the score reading 11-9, both teams went kill-for-kill, error-for-error, which kept Elon in the lead until the Phoenix sealed the set and match with a score of 25-19.
Along with the Santos and Arrufat double-figure kill finish, Moore concluded the match with seven kills. Kalao provided a double-double in the loss with 22 assists and 10 digs. Senior Raven King led the defense with 16 digs.
Collectively, NCCU tallied 46 kills, 47 digs, five team blocks and four aces.
Elon’s offense was led by Smith, while middle blocker Kris Harris and outside hitter Carly Ledbetter finished with eight apiece. Setter Megan McMahon distributed 36 assists and picked up 10 digs. Harris led the blocking campaign with seven block assists.
As a unit, Elon amassed 48 kills, 44 digs, 12 team blocks and six service aces.
NCCU will conclude the Elon Phoenix Classic with a contest against Campbell in the Alumni Gym on the Elon campus.
