#24 Volleyball Suffers 3-0 Loss At Virginia On Friday Night

Nov. 2, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The 24th-ranked Clemson volleyball team fell at Virginia on Friday night, 3-0, ending the Tigers’ record-setting 17-match winning streak. Clemson is now 21-3 on the year with a 14-1 record against ACC opponents, while the Cavaliers improved to 15-9 overall and 10-5 in the conference.

Junior Danielle Hepburn led all hitters with 15 kills while also posting a match-high .367 hitting percentage in the effort. She had a successful night defensively as well, tallying six block assists in the match to move into third place in school history with 376 over her career.

Jeannette Abbott also totaled double figures in kills with 13, while setter Kelsey Murphy had 44 assists.

On the defensive side, a pair of Tigers recorded at least 20 digs, as Didem Ege had 23 and Sue Eckman totaled 20 in the contest.

Sarah Kirkwood posted 14 kills on Friday to lead the Virginia offense, while Shannon Davis posted seven total blocks in the victory.

Game one saw multiple lead changes, with the Cavaliers coming out on top by a final score of 30-23. With the score tied at 17-17, the Cavaliers went on a five point run behind three kills by Katie Oakes. Clemson closed the gap to 23-27, but Virginia went on to score the final three points of the game to defeat the Tigers.

Danielle Hepburn led the Tigers in game one with six kills. Sarah Kirkwood also had six kills for the Cavaliers.

Virginia claimed the victory in game two by coming back from a 29-20 deficit to win 32-30. Clemson built a 10-point lead after scoring seven straight points to go ahead, 25-15. With Clemson just one point away from a victory, Virginia rallied behind the serving of A.J. Cushman to post ten straight points. After a service error by Cushman made the score 30-30, back-to-back kills by Marlow Bruneau and Oakes to secure the Cavaliers’ win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Virginia was again led in game two by the hot hitting of Kirkwood who tallied five kills.

The Cavaliers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in game three behind three attack errors by the Tigers. Neither team led by more than three points again until Virginia went up 23-20 behind four straight points including two kills by Beth Shelton. Behind strong hitting by Danielle Hepburn, the Clemson tied the score at 26.

The game was tied four more times before the Cavaliers scored the game’s final two points.

Virginia closed out the three game sweep when Kendahl Voelker and Oakes blocked an attack by Hepburn.

The Tigers will back in action on Saturday night as they remain in the State of Virginia for a date against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The teams are slated for a 6:00 pm start from Cassell Coliseum.