ELON, N.C. – The Elon University volleyball team handed Towson its first loss of the season on Saturday as Leah Daniel became the program's all-time leader in career kills. 
 
Daniel's 10th kill of the match in the third set was No. 1,462 of her career, moving her past Velma Degree for the most kills in school history. The senior finished with a team-high 16 kills in Elon's 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 16-14 victory. 
 
With the win, Elon is now 7-10 overall and 4-3 in Colonial Athletic Association matches. Towson, who entered the day as one of two remaining undefeated teams in Division I, is now 18-1 and 8-1 in CAA play. 
 
"This was a great day for Elon volleyball. Leah broke a record that has existed for such a long time. I've enjoyed watching her progress as a player and I've enjoyed being a witness to every one of her kills. That record means so much more to everyone with a win against a very talented team," head coach Mary Tendler said. "We have been playing really well as of late. It's good to see the players' effort pay off with the win. We will give it our best shot tomorrow to get another upset win." 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Towson led by two early in the first set, but a 9-4 run gave Elon a 13-10 advantage. The Phoenix boasted a balanced offensive attack throughout the set, as four players registered kills in the frame. The Phoenix took its largest lead at 18-14 and two errors by Towson gave Elon a 25-21 victory. 
• After trailing 3-0 early in the second, Elon battled back to take an 8-5 lead. Towson tied the score at 8-8 but never pulled even again. The Phoenix pulled ahead and led by as many as five before the Tigers got back within one at 20-19. Kills by Sydney Love and Jenn Krzeminski helped Elon close out another 25-21 set win. 
• Daniel broke the all-time kills record with her 10th of the match to give Elon a 7-6 lead.  However, the Tigers, who had not previously trailed by two sets all season, responded. A 9-3 run put in the middle of the set the Tigers ahead 17-12. The Phoenix trimmed the deficit to as few as two points, but Towson won four of the final six points to clinch the set, 25-21. 
• Elon raced out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set before Towson won six consecutive points to go ahead 7-4. The Phoenix tied the set at 13-13 but could not retake the lead, as the Tigers won 12 of the final 17 points to win the set 25-18. 
• The Tigers went ahead 4-2 early in the final set but the Phoenix quickly responded with an 8-2 run to take a 10-5 lead. Towson again battled back, winning seven of the next nine points to tie the score at 12-12. A kill by Love and a Towson attack error gave Elon two match points but the Tigers staved them both off. However, another kill by Love set up a third match point, which the Phoenix converted off a Towson error to win the set 16-14 and clinch the match. 

NOTES

• With her 16 kills against the Tigers, Leah Daniel has at least 15 kills in six matches this season and double-digit kills in 13 of Elon's 17 matches. 
• Sydney Love finished with 12 kills and four blocks. The sophomore has double-digit kills in seven matches this season, including four of the last six. 
• Jordan Gower finished with 27 digs, just two shy of her season-high 29 against High Point on Aug. 27. She posted nine of Elon's 13 digs in the first set. The senior has surpassed 20 digs five times this season and has double-digit digs in 17 straight appearances dating back to last season. 
• Haylie Clark registered 24 assists, nine kills and seven digs on the day. The nine kills were her most in a match since she had 14 on March 20, 2021, against Davidson. The senior has eclipsed 20 assists in all but one match this season. 
• For the third time this season, Ericka Link had double-digit assists, as the junior finished with 19. She also had an ace and delivered her sixth career kill in the fourth set. 
• Alex VanWestrienen tallied double-digit digs (12) for the sixth time this season. The senior has at least 10 digs in three of the last five matches. 
• Lily Emlong tied Love with a team-best four blocks. Jenn Krzeminski had three blocks to go along with six kills. 
• As a team, Towson outpaced the Phoenix in kills (62-52), assists (59-48), digs (72-64), blocks (14-9) and aces (6-4). Elon finished with a better hitting percentage (.177-.159). 
• With the win, Elon snapped Towson's 18-match winning streak, the longest in the country entering today. Elon is the first team to defeat Towson since Penn State did so in last year's NCAA Tournament and the first CAA team to defeat the Tigers since former league member James Madison, who did so on Nov. 6, 2021. The maroon and gold snapped Towson's 13-match CAA winning streak dating back to last season. 
• The Phoenix is the only CAA team this season to take more than one set off Towson, who entered the match with a 24-1 mark in conference sets. 

UP NEXT
Elon plays Towson again tomorrow, as the Phoenix looks to become the first CAA team to beat Towson twice in a season since Northeastern did so in 2018. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.