ELON – After two weeks of regular season play, both Elon University soccer teams remain unbeaten, with the men's team securing its first conference victory against UNCW on Saturday.
Looking ahead, the Elon football team will compete in its home opener against Davidson after a promising start at Duke last Thursday.
Each Monday, Rising Phoenix will preview the week ahead in Elon athletics. Here is a look at each Elon team competing this week.
Volleyball
The Elon University volleyball team has a jam-packed schedule this week, playing four matches over a five-day span. The Phoenix will travel to Boone to face Appalachian State on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. Elon will compete in three matches at the Wildcat Classic over the weekend, facing the host Davidson on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 10 a.m. and Delaware State at 3:30 p.m. that same day.
Senior outside hitter Clara LaRue led the team in kills this past weekend, tallying 27 over the two matches. Junior libero Shannon O'Laughlin and sophomore defensive specialist Casey Brower paced the team defensively against Bethune-Cookman, totaling a career highs of 23 and 21 digs, respectively.
Men's Soccer
Facing UNCW in Wilmington for the team's CAA opener, the Elon University men's soccer team prevailed, 2-1, to secure its first victory of the season. Junior forward Einar Ness and midfielder Dominik Renz scored their first goals of the season and first in their Phoenix careers. Kozak also added two assists in the contest. The Phoenix will travel to Radford to face off against the Highlanders on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before hosting the College of Charleston on Saturday at noon.
Women's Soccer
The Elon University women's soccer team enters the week with a four-match winning streak. In each of these four matches, sophomore goalkeeper Katie Bisgrove has put up a clean sheet and has gone a total of 373 minutes since surrendering a goal. In the team's most recent contest at High Point, sophomore forward Jess Beck scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute, helping the team secure the 1-0 victory. Elon will host NC State on Thursday at 7 p.m. before traveling to George Mason on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Football
Squaring off against Duke for the second consecutive season opener, the Elon University football team had a strong showing with highlights on both sides of the ball. In his debut at quarterback, redshirt freshman Landen Clark rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown, throwing for 101 yards. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Brodie Carroll picked up seven tackles and a forced fumble in his Phoenix debut. Elon will face off against Davidson for its home opener on Saturday at 6 p.m.
'Rising Phoenix' is a 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 X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Sydney Spencer at sspencer9@elon.edu.
