ELON, N.C. – Elon University volleyball ended their 2021 regular season with a win, defeating Hofstra 3-0 on Saturday, Nov. 6 in Schar Center.

With the victory, the maroon and gold clinched a first-round bye at the 2021 CAA Championship Tournament in two weeks.

"We knew we would have to play much better today than we did yesterday to get the win," said head coach Mary Tendler. "Our steady ball control made a huge differenc for us and allowed Haylie Clark to distribute the ball more evenly."
 
Elon 3, Hofstra 0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-12)
THE RUNDOWN
The Phoenix (16-10, 11-5 CAA) jumped head 3-0 to start the match and would not give up the lead for the remainder of the first set. Leah Daniel started off hot tallying seven kills in the opening set, and Sydney Love also found success early with six kills. The defense held off the Pride (13-12, 7-7 CAA) and Elon cruised to a 25-14 first-set win. 
 
In Set Two, Elon's front line continued to pour it on. Clark orchestrated quick attacks for Natalie Cummins and Jenn Krzeminski as the middle blocker duo combined for four kills. After holding the lead from start to finish again, it was Daniel that finished the set off with a soft-touch kill as Elon secured a 25-18 decision. 

After a slow start, a service ace by Alex VanWestrienen sparked a 5-0 Phoenix run midway through Set Three. Back-to-back service aces from Clarke brought the maroon and gold to within two points of victory at 23-11. Cummins and fellow senior Julia Crabtree then delivered the final blow in their final home game. The Phoenix dominated the final set 25-12 to secure the 3-0 victory and sweep of Hofstra.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Daniel and Love led the Phoenix with 11 kills each and Clarke finished with 30 assists. Krzeminski tallied five kills and led both teams with three blocks, with Love right behind her with two blocks. Cummins contributed seven kills and VanWestrienen and Clark nailed two service aces each. Kellyn Trowse and Jordan Gower led Elon in digs with 11 and 10, respectively.

"It was awesome to see so many family members, former players and loyal fans here this weekend to be a part of the Homecoming festivities," added Tendler. "Thank you for the support and for being a part of our Elon Volleyball family."
 
NOTES
- The all-time series now stands at 10-4 in favor of the Pride.
- This marks the first time in the series history that Elon has beaten Hofstra twice in one season.
- Elon swept four CAA series this season and also won its last five home matches dating back to Oct. 10. 
- The match featured eight ties and five lead changes. The third set included seven ties and five lead changes.
- Elon outhit Hofstra, .446 - .174.
- The Phoenix edged the Pride in total points (50.0-37.0), kills (40-34), assists (37-34), service aces (6-2), digs (36-31) and blocks (4-1).
- Clark continued her stretch of matches with double-digit assists. She has now reached double figures in 51 straight games.
- Clark also eclipsed 600 career digs in the win.
- Daniel has posted double-digit kills in 18 of the last 19 contests. 
- Elon finishes the regular season with a 9-2 record when playing at Schar Center.
- The 11 conference wins are the most since 2010 when the Phoenix went 11-5 in the SoCon.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix is off next week and awaits the results from around the league to determine their tournament seeding. The CAA Championship Tournament starts on Thursday, Nov. 18 at Towson's SECU Arena.