Sept. 24, 2004

Box Score

ELON, North Carolina - Furman senior Julia Fredrickson recorded 25 kills and a .538 attack percentage Friday night, but it was not enough to overcome a big Elon blocking night, as the Lady Paladins lost 3-2 to the Phoenix in the Southern Conference opener for both teams.

The Lady Paladins came out on top 30-26 in game one, but Elon responded with a 30-28 game two victory to even the match at 1-1. Furman recorded the most decisive win of the night with a 30-21 game three decision, before falling 32-30 in the fourth game. Game five was also decided by only two points, with the Phoenix taking the 16-14 victory.

In addition to 25 kills, middle hitter Fredrickson totaled five blocks and tallied six digs for Furman, while Whitney Purser added 13 kills and 16 digs. Libero Rosey Cashman topped the Lady Paladin defense with 20 digs, while Ally Hock contributed 12 digs and setter Molly Rybak totaled 10 digs and 54 assists.

Furman's offense was stymied by the Phoenix net defense, which outblocked the Lady Paladins 17.0 to 6.0 on the night. Emily Lucci paced Elon with a team-high 17 kills and nine blocks, while Juliena Gigon added 10 kills and seven blocks and Mary Kate Spear rolled up 20 digs.

With the win, the Elon Phoenix improves to 6-6 on the year with a 1-0 mark in Southern Conference play, while Furman falls to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in league action. The Lady Paladins will face UNC Greensboro on Tuesday, Sept. 28, in a 7 p.m. match at Timmons Arena.