Elon volleyball’s confidence is building, its wins are accumulating and with just six matches left in the regular season, the Southern Conference tournament is creeping into view.

Elon travels to second place Furman University Friday and Wofford College Saturday. Elon lost to Furman in its first matchup 3-0 [30-15, 30-26, 30-16] on Sept. 28, but beat Wofford in three games the next day [30-24, 30-20, 30-16].

“We realized we have the potential to go far,” said junior outside hitter Jessica Barrow. “We are working harder. Everyone has the confidence to do well.”

The road trip comes after losing to first place College of Charleston in five games Friday [27-30, 30-28, 30-26, 21-30, 15-12] and sweeping The Citadel in three games Saturday. Elon is just the second team in the Southern Conference to battle College of Charleston to five games.

Elon won the first and fourth games to force the fifth game, but could not make up for a slow start in the fifth game and fell 15-12.

“In the fifth game you must start out well,” head coach Mary Tendler said. “We didn’t do that and in rally games it’s hard making comebacks. We did fight them until the end, though.”

Tendler said that the team’s recent success is because of its composure on the court and more creativity in scoring points. In the past, Elon was a hard-hitting team, but during the spring season and this fall, it has worked on mixing up shots, using more tip shots and varying its services.

“The players believe they can beat everyone in the conference,” Tendler said. “They are playing well together and different players are stepping up each night.”

Barrow stepped up on Saturday against Elon’s 3-0 win against The Citadel [30-13, 30-23, 30-22]. Barrow led the team with 14 kills while Emily Lucci recorded her fourth double-double in a row, contributing 12 kills and 10 digs.

Elon dominated the first set, winning 30-13.

The Citadel mustered a short-lived comeback in the second set, matching Elon’s points until the 20th point. The Citadel scored just three more points, bringing the final score of the second game to 30-23.

Lucci provided the spark for the third set, when she served for six consecutive points.

“The hardest part [about playing a weaker opponent] is that you don’t know what’s coming over the net,” Barrow said. “We stayed disciplined and didn’t drop to their level.”

Barrow hopes the momentum from last weekend will carry over to this weekend.

“I’m extremely excited to play Furman because my class has not beaten Furman yet,” Barrow said. “The seniors beat them their freshman year, but we all want to get that win.”

Reporter: Krista Naposki - 10/24/07