WILLIAMSBURG, VA. – Haylie Clark's triple double wasn't enough for the Phoenix (0-3, 0-2 CAA) as the Elon University volleyball team fell to William & Mary 3-1 on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Kaplan Arena.
 
"Our level of play was much higher tonight than last night," head coach Mary Tendler said after the match. "When we are aggressive, good things are happening for us. I loved how we competed in the last three sets, we just need to get off to a better start. If we do that, we will see different results."
 
Elon 1, W&M 3 (22-25, 24-26, 25-14, 25-27)
THE RUNDOWN
The Tribe (2-0, 2-0) broke a 5-5 tie in the opening set with a 6-2 swing that forced coach Tendler to call a timeout. A Clark kill provided a spark as Elon pulled to within 18-16 with a 5-1 run. Later in the set, a pair of W&M attack errors and an Alex VanWestrienen service ace narrowed the gap at 23-21 in favor of the hosts. The sides then traded points as the Tribe earned the first set point at 25-22.

W&M jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in Set Two. The maroon and gold was able to wrestle away control as a pair of Leah Daniel kills made it 20-19. However, after Kodi Garcia set up Natalie Cummins to tie the set at 24-24, the Tribe earned back-to-back points to take the 2-0 match lead.

Elon came out hot in the third set, sending W&M back to its bench with the Phoenix in front, 10-4. The Tribe was never able to recover, and a 3-0 run highlighted by a Julia Crabtree kill and a Daniel ace capped off a 25-14 set point for Elon.

Set Four was close throughout, with neither side holding onto the lead for long. Down the stretch, a bad set by the Tribe and a kill from Jenn Krzeminski knotted the score at 24-24. A W&M service error tied the set again at 25-25, but the Tribe recorded a pair of kills to clinch the CAA victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
It was the first career triple double for Clark. The Saint Cloud, Fla. native collected 21 assists and added 15 digs and 12 kills to her match totals. Daniel finished with a team-high 24 kills, Garcia contributed 23 assists, and VanWestrienen served up two aces. On the other side of the net, VanWestrienen and Jordan Gower both reached double-digit digs with 12 each while Krzeminski end up with three blocks.

NOTES
- The Phoenix outhit its opponent .318 to .266, but the Tribe edged the maroon and gold in kills, 65-53.
- Elon committed fewer attack errors (12-23) and out-blocked W&M (7-2).
- Clark eclipsed 100 career kills.
- W&M trims Elon's lead in the all-time series to 11-7.
- This is the first time in the series that Elon has dropped two matches to the Tribe in the same season.
 
Up Next
The Phoenix returns to Schar Center next Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7 to host UNCW for a pair of CAA matches. Saturday is slated for a 5 p.m. first serve, with Sunday scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.