Personal: Full name is Leah Joanne Daniel…Born on August 25, 1999...Daughter of Ann and Jeff Daniel…Has three siblings, Conner, Peyton and Jackson…Father, Jeff, played basketball at Virginia from 1985-89…Aunt, Sara Daniel, played volleyball at Ohio State from 1991-94…Uncle, Mike Daniel, played basketball at DePauw from 1989-92…Was a member of FCA and participated in Best Buddies in high school…Played high school volleyball with the sister of former Elon men’s basketball standout Jack Isenbarger ’14.
Career Honors
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All-time leader in career kills at Elon (1,619)
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2022 All-CAA First Team
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2022 Volley for Unity All-Tournament Team
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2022 CAA Preseason Player of the Year
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2021 All-CAA First Team
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CAA Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 27, 2021)
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CAA Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 20, 2021)
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2021 Volley for Unity All-Tournament Team
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2021 Virginia Tech Invitational Tournament MVP
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2021 CAA Preseason Player of the Year
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2020-21 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention
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2020-21 AVCA East Coast All-Region
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2020-21 CAA Player of the Year
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2020-21 First Team All-CAA
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2020-21 Team MVP (Team Award)
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CAA Offensive Player of the Week (March 22, 2021)
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2019 CAA All-Tournament Team
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2019 First Team All-CAA
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2019 Team MVP (Team Award)
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CAA Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 30, 2019)
- 2019 UVA Jefferson Cup All-Tournament Team
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2019 RMU Sheraton Invitational All-Tournament Team
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2018 Phoenix Classic All-Tournament Team
Career Highs (through Nov. 17, 2022)
Kills: 30 vs. Davidson | March 20, 2021
Assists: 2, 5x - last vs. Northeastern | Nov. 17, 2022
Digs: 14, 2x - last vs. Davidson | March 20, 2021
Blocks: 5, 3x - last vs. Towson | Oct. 16, 2022
Aces: 6 vs. Florida A&M | Sept. 9, 2022
2022: Started all 27 matches and played in 108 sets. Her season totals included 379 kills (3.51/set), nine assists, a career-high 32 service aces, 105 digs and 43 blocks...Ranked No. 4 in kills, kills per set and points per set (4.01), and ranked No. 3 in total points (433)...Reached double-digit kills in 21-of-26 matches during the regular season, including a streak of nine in a row...Recorded 21 kills to lead the Phoenix to its first victory of the season against VCU at the VCU Invitational...Tallied a career-high six service aces against Florida A&M and 16 kills in a win over UNCG at the Volley for Unity Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team...Began conference play with double-digit kills in both matches of a weekend sweep of North Carolina A&T...Posted 16 kills in Elon's victory over previously unbeaten Towson to become the program's all-time leader in career kills...Delivered 20 kills in a five-set victory over College of Charleston...Hit a season-best .417 with 12 kills in a win against Hampton...Secured her ninth career double-double in a five-set win over UNCW with 21 kills and 10 digs...Posted a 15-kill, 10-dig double-double in the CAA Tournament quarterfinal against Northeastern for her 10th career double-double...Reached double-digit kills in the final nine matches of the season.
Double-Doubles (2)
at UNCW | Nov. 6, 2022 | 21 kills, 10 digs
vs. Northeastern | Nov. 17, 2022 | 15 kills, 10 digs
2021: Started all 28 matches and played in 101 sets. Her season totals included 391 kills (3.87/set), eight assists, 13 service aces, 122 digs and 45 blocks...Led the CAA in total kills and points (427.0) and was second in the league in total attacks (1,039), kills per set and points per set (4.23)...Reached double-digit kills in 23-of-26 matches during the regular season, including a stretch of 14 matches in a row...Tallied 15 kills to lead the Phoenix in a 3-1 win over Lehigh at the Virginia Tech Invitational...Recorded a 21-kill, 11-dig double-double against the host Hokies and was named Tournament MVP...Swung for a .467 clip with 14 kills in a straight-set victory at Furman...Scored 13 kills with a .480 hitting percentage in a 3-0 win over UNC Asheville...Opened conference play with a season-high 22 kills in Elon's 3-1 win at Charleston. She then added 19 kills in another win over the Cougars to eclipse 1,000 career kills and secure CAA Offensive Player of the Week honors...Tied her season high with 22 kills in a 3-2 win over Delaware. Daniel then finished with 16 kills in the second meeting with the Blue Hens. The effort allowed her to repeat as CAA Offensive Player of the Week...Hit .353 with 18 kills, four digs and one block at Towson on Oct. 3...Finished with a season-high 23 kills at Northeastern on Oct. 23 as she hit for a .264 clip. She added two assists, four digs and one block to her totals...Collected double-digit kills in four straight matches to cap off the regular season, starting with 12 at William & Mary on Oct. 30. She followed with 16 in the second meeting with the Tribe before scoring 13 and 11 kills in the two matches vs. Hofstra on Nov. 5-6...Tied her career high with five blocks in the CAA Championship Semifinal win over Hofstra. She added 15 kills and five digs to her match totals...Scored seven kills with one assist, three digs and three blocks in the CAA Championship Final at Towson.
Double-Doubles (1)
at Virginia Tech | Aug. 28, 2021 | 21 kills, 11 digs
2020-21: Was the CAA Player of the Year and an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention...Started all 10 matches and played in all 40 sets for the Phoenix. Her final season stats included 190.5 points (4.76/set), 177 kills (4.43/set), a .232 hitting percentage, two assists, seven service aces (0.18/set), 90 digs (2.25/set) and 13 blocks (0.33/set)...Ranked 15th nationally in attacks per set (12.05), 17th in kills per set and 36th in points per set...Reached double-digit kills in 8-of-10 matches and double-digit digs in five matches...Scored a team-high 19 kills with 10 digs in a 3-2 win over UNCW on March 6...Served a career-high five aces on March 7 to complete the series sweep of the Seahawks. She added seven kills, 12 digs and one block to her match totals...Finished with 12 kills and eight digs in a win at UNCG on March 18...Set a new career high with 30 kills against Davidson on March 20. She added 14 digs for the double-double...Scored match point to secure Elon's first-ever win over JMU on March 24. Daniel tallied 17 kills with three blocks and three digs...Posted a 19-kill, 10-dig double-double at CofC on March 27 and concluded the season with a 20-kill, 10-dig double-double vs. the Cougars on March 28.
Double-Doubles (4)
vs. UNCW | March 6, 2021 | 19 kills, 10 digs
vs. Davidson | March 20, 2021 | 30 kills, 14 digs
at Charleston | March 27, 2021 | 19 kills, 10 digs
at Charleston | March 28, 2021 | 20 kills, 10 digs
2019: Led both the Phoenix and the CAA with 487 kills (3.87/set) and 542.5 total points, with both totals ranked 32nd in the nation. She also ranked second in the league with 9.96 attacks per set and 1,255 total attacks...Made 21 starts in 32 matches and 126 sets played. Her other season totals included a .222 attack percentage, four assists, 18 service aces, 141 digs, and 68 blocks (seven solo)...Set new career highs at Robert Morris with 21 kills, five digs, three blocks, and her first career assist...Bettered that effort with a team-high 27 kills in a win over Manhattan. Also served an ace and made two blocks. She also picked up All-Tournament Team honors...Was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30 after leading the offense to its best start in league play since joining the conference in 2014. In wins over Hofstra and Northeastern, she hit .239 with 35 kills (3.89/set), two service aces, nine digs, five blocks (one solo), and 40.0 points...Had a stretch of 18 matches with double-digit kills...Scored 22 kills with 11 digs and four blocks in a win over Delaware...Tallied 17 kills with nine digs in Elon's 3-2 win over Northeastern in the opening round of the CAA Championship. In the semifinal match against Towson, she paced the attack with 16 kills, a pair of aces, and a .289 hitting percentage. The effort helped Daniel earn All-Tournament Team honors.
Double-Doubles (3)
James Madison | Oct. 10, 2019 | 10 kills, 14 digs
Delaware | Oct. 12, 2019 | 22 kills, 11 digs
at William & Mary | Oct. 30, 2019 | 11 kills, 10 digs
2018: Saw action in 26 matches and 82 sets, making 11 starts...Finished her freshman campaign third on the team in kills with 185 and added 29 digs with 22 total blocks (two solo, 20 block assists)...Broke out with 18 kills to just four errors for a .350 hitting percentage to go with three digs in the win over Gardner-Webb...Posted her first double-digit kill outing with 10 against N.C. Central after recording eight against Evansville in the Phoenix Classic...Posted eight kills and four digs in a win over USC Upstate at the Charlotte Invitational...Finished with seven kills and a block against N.C. A&T in the home opener...Scored a season-high 19 kills with a .432 hitting percentage in Elon's first meeting with Delaware...Tied her mark in digs with four versus Hofstra...Recorded multiple blocks six times during the season.
High School: A four-year letter winner at Zionsville Community High School, Daniel helped lead the Eagles to new heights in her career…As a junior, helped Zionsville Community to the 4A Regional Championship, the first in school history, before going on to help the Eagles win the Hoosier Crossroads Conference Championship (HCC) as a senior, which was also the first conference title in school history…An Indiana All-Star as a junior and senior, Daniel also helped the Eagles to the 4A Sectional Championship in her sophomore, junior and senior campaigns…A MaxPreps Indiana State Player of the Year finalist as a senior, she was also named a PrepVolleyball Top 150 Senior Ace and finished her final season as a First Team All-HCC honoree, an Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches 4A All-North Central District honoree and a 4A Second Team All-State award winner…Earlier in her career as a sophomore, Daniel was named a PrepVolleyball Sophomore Club Watch Lister and to the 2016 AAU Nationals Shining Star List…Played club volleyball for Team Indiana and coach Rich Coleman…Helped the team to finish fifth at the 2016 AAU National Championship 17U Open.
Quoting Coach Tendler: "Leah's strength and athleticism stood out immediately to us; she has all the tools to be very successful in our program. Because of her desire to push herself, she has developed into a skilled six rotation outside hitter. Each time we saw her play, it was evident she was evolving as a player. Much credit goes to Leah for her work ethic and her coaches for preparing her for the next level."
