ELON, N.C. – Leah Daniel hit .387 with 16 kills to lead Elon past Furman, 3-1, Friday at the Schar Center in Elon, N.C.

In a tight first set, Elon took a 22-18 lead before the Paladins rallied to win three-straight points and trim the deficit to one.  A kill by Kelly Trowse put the Phoenix back on top by two, but three-straight kills from junior Nicole Mack and sophomore Neci Harris gave the Paladins a 24-23 advantage.  The teams again traded points and settled at 26-all before consecutive kills from Nori Thomas and Daniel gave the Phoenix the first set win, 28-26.

The Phoenix jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set two but Furman won five out of six points to take a 5-4 lead.  The Paladins slowly built a larger advantage, eventually stretching the lead to six at 20-14 before Elon reeled off three-straight points to cut the margin to 20-17.  The Paladins took control of the match at 22-17 following consecutive attack errors from the Phoenix.  After trading points, a final kill from Harris followed by an Elon attack error gave the Paladins set two, 25-20, to tie the match at one set apiece heading into the break.

The teams traded points back and fourth in set three before Elon scored four-straight to pull away, 16-11.  Furman went on a 7-3 run to cut the advantage to one at 19-18, but Elon won three to push the margin back to four points, 22-18.  The Paladins rallied to win five out of the next six points, ignited by four kills from Mack in the series, taking a 24-23 lead.  Elon claimed four out of five points to close out the set, 27-25, and take a 2-1 set advantage.

Elon built a 7-2 lead to open set four before the Paladins stormed back, cutting the deficit to 11-10 after winning five out of seven points.  The Phoenix went up 14-11 but Furman answered again, taking three of the next four points to keep the set within reach at 15-14, but Elon took six of the next seven points to pull away, 21-15.  After the Phoenix earned match point at 24-17, the Paladins reeled off five straight points with a kill and a service ace by Harris coupled with three Elon errors to cut the lead to two, but a final kill from Thomas gave the Phoenix the match. 

The Paladins (0-7) were led by Mack, who posted 15 kills, and Harris who added 12 kills.  Freshman Andrea Aceveda recorded 14 digs to pace Furman, and sophomore Katie Murphy tallied a team-high 43 assists.  Junior Courtney Hoffman led the Paladins with six blocks.   

Elon (3-5) had three players in double figures in kills, as Thomas added 15 and Trowse had 13 to Daniel's 16.  Jordan Gower posted 13 digs, while Kodi Garcia paced Elon with 30 assists.

The Paladins will take on Wake Forest at Reynolds Gymnasium in Winston-Salem, N.C., Saturday at 7 p.m.