DURHAM, N.C. – Elon University volleyball was unable to halt a strong Duke attack as the Phoenix fell 3-0 on Tuesday, Aug. 31 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"Duke took big swings and served really tough tonight," said head coach Mary Tendler. "We had a hard time creating offensive options for ourselves. A lot of players had the opportunity to play, which will pay off as we continue our non-conference schedule and move closer to CAA play."
 
Elon 0, Duke 3 (20-25, 22-25, 16-25)
THE RUNDOWN
The Blue Devils (3-0) went ahead 7-4 early in the opening set, but Haylie Clark set Sydney Love for a pair of kills and Duke committed an attack error as the Phoenix (1-3) pulled even. The hosts then retook control 13-8 with five unanswered points. Jenn Krzeminski converted an attack and Leah Daniel followed with consecutive kills as Elon trailed 22-19, but Duke held on 25-20.
 
With the score tied at 10-10 in Set Two, Elon put together a 6-0 run courtesy of multiple bad sets and attack errors by the Blue Devils. The maroon and gold couldn't get comfortable, though, as an 8-1 swing by the home team tied the set at 19-19. After a Duke service error, a 4-0 push made it 23-20 in favor of the Blue Devils. Elon earned the next two points but came up short, 25-22 as Duke took the 2-0 lead.
 
An early 4-0 run allowed Duke to build a 10-3 advantage in the third set. The Blue Devils pulled away 22-11 before Elon finally found some rhythm with a 5-1 swing. Unfortunately, the late offense wasn't enough as Duke closed the match with a 25-16 decision.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Daniel continued to pace the attack, finishing with 13 kills and one service ace. Love followed with seven kills, Clark reached 19 assists, and Alex VanWestrienen had the team's other ace. Natalie Cummins, Kellyn Trowse and Krzeminski recorded one block each. Jordan Gower tallied 17 digs, and Trowse and VanWestrienen were next with eight digs apiece.
 
NOTES
- Duke edged Elon in total attacks (109-104), kills (44-31), service aces (4-2), digs (48-43) and blocks (9-2).
- Elon still leads the all-time series, 8-6. The Phoenix falls to 0-3 versus the Blue Devils since making the jump to Division I, though.
- Daniel eclipsed 900 career kills tonight. She entered the match needing four to reach the milestone.

UP NEXT
Elon will travel to Clinton, S.C. this Friday, Sept. 3 for a 7 p.m. match at Presbyterian. The team then rounds out its opening road swing with a 7 p.m. match at Furman on Saturday, Sept. 4.