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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
KatrinaMiller
Ethan Neal
2
Elon Elon 4-9,2-0 CAA
3
Winner Radford Rad 4-11,0-1 Big South
Elon Elon
4-9,2-0 CAA
2
Final
3
Radford Rad
4-11,0-1 Big South
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Elon Elon 27 25 25 23 11 (2)
Radford Rad 29 20 20 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Volleyball Survives Marathon Match Defeating Elon 3-2

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford volleyball program dug deep for a comeback victory over Elon 3-2 Saturday afternoon in a match that featured slim margins in every set.
 
KEY STATS
  • Katrina Miller led Radford's offense with a career-best performance of 17 kills, blowing out her previous high of 10.
  • Taryn Roberts (15 kills) and Lea Gage (7 kills) also set career highs for kills.
  • Radford set match-highs for the season in aces (11), kills (65), total blocks (11) and points (87).
  • The five-set win is Radford's first of the season in their second such match.
  • The two squads last met in 2015, which was also a 3-2 win by Radford in Dedmon.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
The first set of Saturday's match set the tone for what was to come. After going down 5-2 early, Radford battled back with kills from Olivia Ryno, Gabriela Smolenska and Miller to rally back. Thanks to a 4-0 run that featured two aces from Moore, Radford was ahead 10-9. The Phoenix burst back with an 8-2 run of their own to take a strong 17-12 advantage.
 
Not giving in, Radford came out of a timeout with force. Kills from Alana Kolb, Miller and Hatch fueled an incredible 8-0 sprint by the Highlanders to retake a 20-17 edge. The set was far from over as each squad traded points into an eventual 23-23 deadlock. Down 24-23, Radford forced the set to run long thanks to a kill from Gage. A kill from Sloss avoided another set point by the Phoenix and a solo block from Kolb had Radford ahead 27-26. Gage would come up big with another kill while Roberts sealed the deal with a kill as Radford took a pivotal set one 29-27.
 
The Highlanders continued to roll into set two taking an early 6-1 lead thanks to some errors by Elon and Miller who continued to hit hot with two more kills. Out of an Elon timeout, the Phoenix would rally back to evaporate that early advantage. Up 10-8, Radford got some breathing room as Sloss and Roberts combined for kills and Ryno served up and ace to go ahead 14-8.
 
The run continued to a 17-9 lead which seemed safe. Elon responded with a long, 9-1 burst that tied the match back at 18-18. The Highlanders weren't able to break the run out of timeouts, as Elon continued their rally all the way to a 25-20 finish in set two that evened the match at 1-1.
 
Elon continued their hot streak into set three establishing a slim 6-3 lead through the early goings of the set. Some attack errors kept the Highlanders pacing with the Phoenix and Sloss got a pair of kills that pulled Radford to down just 10-9. Neither team gained a major edge in the set, but Radford wasn't fully able to overcome the early deficit and dropped set three 25-20.
 
Set four continued the back and forth affair. Kolb provided some big points for Radford early as did Roberts, Ryno, Gage and Miller as Radford's offense produced from all angles. Tied at 10-10, an ace by Gage gave Radford its first edge in the set at 12-11. Miller, Kolb and Roberts would add more kills as Radford led 15-13.
 
Needing a rally, Roberts added a kill and a block that gave Radford a huge 19-16 advantage. Both teams traded points up until set point at 24-21 in Radford's favor. Elon rallied to threaten another long set at 24-23, but Ryno halted that run immediately with a kill to win set four 25-23 and force a fifth set.
 
Entering their second fifth-set match of the season, and second in as many weeks, Radford set the tone early. A kill by Gage and ace from Ryno followed by kills from Roberts, Miller and Sloss had Radford ahead 6-1 forcing an Elon timeout. Out of the timeout, the Phoenix tightened the set back up at 6-4 and eventually tied things at 7-all.
 
A service error by Elon seemed to break things Radford's way. Out of it, Radford got a block from Kolb and Sloss with two kills from Roberts to go ahead 12-9. The Highlanders stayed hot, using the energy of a great crowd, and rattled off the final three points of the match behind a service error, block from Roberts and Gage and a kill from Roberts to win set five 15-11 and the match 3-2.
 
UP NEXT
Radford will stick to the home court when they return to Big South play next weekend. Action begins on Friday, October 3rd against Gardner-Webb at 6 p.m. followed by a match on Saturday, October 4th against Winthrop at 2 p.m.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD VOLLEYBALL
For all the latest on Radford Volleyball, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordVB), Instagram (@radfordvb), and "like" the team's official Facebook Page (Radford Volleyball).
 
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