ELON, N.C. – Hungry, competitive and driven is how head coach
Mary Tendler describes the 2024 Elon University volleyball team.
"The thing that sticks out the most is we have a lot of depth in every position," Tendler said. "Our scrimmages have been really, really competitive. They're fighting for positions, which is making our team a lot better."
After a 2023 season in which the Phoenix faced challenges and adversity, the team has been working hard over the offseason to make necessary adjustments and improvements.
"We were very competitive last year and competed well with every team," Tendler said. "It got down to the moment where we needed to make clutch plays, and we just didn't finish sets or finish matches. I think the players are just hungry to get to that point and prove that we're more confident in those moments."
Cameron Lanier and Caroline Berlekamp may only be sophomores, but the duo took on integral roles within the team in their first year. Lanier started in 23 matches, earning 221 kills and 60 blocks, both ranked second on the team. Berlekamp made 22 starts and led the team with 62 blocks.
Both are looking toward their sophomore seasons as a year for growth, not only on the court but off the court as leaders.
"Trust is definitely a big thing," Lanier said. "It's one of our main core values right now, just trust. Moving from freshman to sophomore, you have people coming up behind you that need to learn to trust you and we're still building connections with the upperclassmen. Everyone is learning to trust each other and do their job to the best of their ability."
Lanier and Berlekamp are two out of five members of a core sophomore class that saw ample action last season. Middle blocker Kyla Johnson, defensive specialist Shannon O'Laughlin and outside hitter Keira Kasten will also be returning to the court for the Phoenix.
"We are very competitive in practice, and I think that's what makes us close," Berlekamp said of her fellow sophomore class. "We want to push each other to be better, and it brings us closer in the process."
Tendler said she has seen both confidence and individual improvements among the sophomores during their preseason games.
"All the information coming to them, the different defenses and different offensive plays, it's not new to them," Tendler said. "They're not processing and trying to play, they're just playing a little more freely and doing what each one needs to do individually to get better.
"I think you're going to see more production and you'll see that experience is going to be a little bit lower error than they were last year in what they're doing, just because they've played," Tendler added. "That was a huge thing last year. We're young, but those young people were playing. Getting that experience in matches in the fall is just huge moving forward."
Over the offseason, the team welcomed four freshmen: defensive specialist Casey Brower, setter Kayla Palmer, outside hitter Anna Sewell and middle blocker Catherine Rucker.
"The freshmen came in, and it's a lot of information all at once and a little bit overwhelming the first few days," Tendler said. "The returners have been so helpful with them, and they've been asking them questions and learning from them as well. They're attacking preseason just like everyone else, which is nice to see."
Along with the freshmen, the Phoenix added graduate student Annabelle Schall, a setter with prior CAA experience at UNC Wilmington. Schall had a successful career with the Seahawks, with over 600 assists in each of her last two seasons.
A season ago, the Phoenix welcomed its first-ever graduate student, Abigail Sparkman, who is returning for one last season with the maroon and gold. Tendler said gaining leadership and collegiate volleyball experience from the two has been invaluable.
"It's nice with both [Abigail Sparkman] and Belle [Schall], because they have other experiences that they're coming from, other collegiate experiences. There's value in that and in what they're doing," Tendler said. "Belle is going through the same thing Abigail was going through last year, coming from another program, first time, trying to fit in. I think they've been really good for each other."
In addition to Schall and Sparkman, Elon also welcomed back a familiar face in Ericka Link as a graduate student for her fifth year with the team. 2024 will mark the first season the volleyball team has multiple graduate students on the same roster.
"She's awesome to have on the team," Tendler said. "She's a leader on our team, a vocal leader. She brings energy to the gym every single day, even when we're having two practices and everyone's tired. She just lightens everything up, and she comes in ready to go and knows what to expect. There's a reason we asked her back for a fifth year, and it's been awesome to have that experience with our team."
The Phoenix also named two captains this offseason in Sparkman and senior Sydney Love. In only her second season at Elon, Sparkman's leadership and work ethic have been profoundly noted by her peers that appointed her.
"Abigail is a very organized person and very detailed," Tendler said. "That comes across in everything we do…She's great at organizing, and she brings a calm to the team. She's always the same. You never see her high or low. She's just that calm person."
Sparkman's co-captain is none other than Love, who is returning to the role after serving alongside Jordan Gower last season.
"Her expectations are high, and it's her senior year," Tendler said. "Even last year, she has that ability to get more of her teammates when needed or to know when maybe it's not the best day we're having in practice. Having a player be able to voice that has been huge."
Love has been a staple on the squad for the past three seasons, finishing each season with over 200 kills. Love was named to the 2021 CAA All-Rookie team and the 2023 and 2024 CAA preseason honorable mention lists.
"She's such an inspiration to look up to," Berlekamp said. "It's like, 'Oh, wow, she's on our team.' She's got our backs. You want to do good for her, but you want to do good for everyone on our team."
"She's definitely a really big role model to look up to, but she's super humble in the role that she is in," Lanier added. "She may be captain for two years now, she got preseason honorable mention, but she's so humble about it. She really wants everyone on the team to get better and for everyone to grow together."
In addition to the captains, Tendler also appointed a new assistant volleyball coach – a former setter that Phoenix fans are very familiar with. After being an assistant coach at Bucknell University for a year, Elon standout Haylie Clark is back in maroon and gold.
Clark played for the Phoenix from 2018-22, collecting 2,838 assists, fifth all-time in Elon's record book. She was also named to the 2022 and 2021 All-CAA second teams and earned CAA Setter of the Year in 2021.
"Haylie focuses on the offense, and she trains the setters," Tendler said. "Right off the bat, they're responding to her, listening to her and just taking in what she has to offer…She was CAA Setter of the Year. This is where our current players would like to be. They already have that respect for her walking in the gym."
The Phoenix is set to participate in the Wildcat Classic in Davidson, North Carolina to officially begin the 2024 campaign. Elon will play its first home match against Gardner-Webb on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m., followed by the Elon Phoenix Classic, hosted in Schar Center, with matches Sept. 6-7.
"I'm just excited for the first home opener, and I know that's not a big goal or anything, but just taking it one step at a time and being able to make the conference tournament means we win that first game," Lanier said.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
WE LOVE SYDNEY
Sydney Love is entering her senior season with the Phoenix and her second season being a captain of the team. Love also took home 2021 CAA All-Rookie team honors and was named to both the 2023 and 2024 All-CAA preseason honorable mention lists.
GRADUATES GALORE
For the first time in the history of the Elon volleyball program, there will be three graduate students on the roster: Abigail Sparkman, Ericka Link and Annabelle Schall.
COACH CLARK
Haylie Clark is back in maroon and gold after being named an assistant coach in August. Clark was a setter on the Elon volleyball team from 2018-22, ranks fifth all-time in Elon's record books for assists with 2,838 and was the 2021 CAA Setter of the Year.
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
--ELON--
