CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The College of Charleston volleyball team fell to the Elon Phoenix, 3-1, in both teams' Colonial Athletic Association opener on Friday evening in TD Arena.
 
The Phoenix (6-5, 1-0 CAA) rebounded from a narrow setback in set one to win the next three sets and take the match by scores of 24-26, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-23. Elon finished the night with 61 kills, 61 digs, eight blocks and a .346 hitting percentage. College of Charleston (7-5, 0-1 CAA) accumulated 51 kills, 53 digs, six aces and hit .210 in the contest.
 
Critical Point
With Elon holding a narrow 12-10 lead in set two after an ace from Emma Appleman, the Phoenix countered with a 6-2 spurt to open an 18-12 advantage. Elon would go on to win the set, 25-17, and even the match at 1-1.
 
Key Cougars

• Junior Gabi Bailey paced the Cougars with 15 kills and seven digs.
• Lexi Wierzbicki put down 13 kills on 30 swings while hitting .367. She accounted for four kills on six swings in set two.
• Appleman dished out 31 assists to go along with eight digs and five kills on seven attempts.
• Sammy Campion accounted for 22 digs, three assists and two service aces. She collected eight digs in CofC's 26-24 opening-set win. 

Game Notes

• The Cougars fall to 30-3 in the all-time series against Elon and snap a three-match winning streak against the Phoenix.
• Elon posted a hitting percentage of over .400 in both the second and third sets.
• The setback marks only the third time Charleston has dropped its CAA opener since joining the league in 2013.
• Elon's Leah Daniel led all hitters with 22 kills, including eight in set two.

Up Next
The Cougars and Phoenix will meet again in the second match of the weekend series on Saturday afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in TD Arena.