Clemson Escapes College of Charleston Unbeaten Behind 20 Yaz Kills

Sept. 4, 2010

ROCK HILL, SC – The College of Charleston gave Clemson all they could handle in the final match of the Carolina Challenge, but the Tigers came out on top with a 3-2 (17-25, 26-24, 25-15, 19-25, 15-13) win. The Tigers (6-0) recorded 16 blocks as a team, and used 20 Serenat Yaz kills to claim the Championship with a 3-0 record on the weekend.

Yaz’s 20 kills were a career high, as the sophomore recorded kill totals of 12, 14, and 20 on the weekend en route to Tournament MVP honors. She also added 12 digs, her second straight double-double and third of the season overall. She filled up the stat sheet, also picking up three aces, three assists and three blocks.

Cansu Ozdemir was excellent defensively, notching a career-best 24 digs and holding the Cougars to .176 hitting. Clemson had a season-high 16 blocks, led by Sandra Adeleye’s four solo and five assists, and Alexa Rand’s seven assists.

The Tigers improved to 6-0 on the season, the best start since the 1999 team won their first 15 matches. The Tigers saw their consecutive sets won streak snapped at 15 when the Cougars took the first set, but the Tigers rebounded to win the next two sets and dug in during the fifth set for a victory.

Sophomore Lacy Hayes played a majority of the match at setter, recording a career-best 38 assists and four block assists.

The fifth set looked like it might get out of hand early, as Clemson raced out to an 8-4 lead after a Tanya Mirutenko ace. However, a College of Charleston timeout spurred a 6-1 run to give the Cougars a 10-9 lead. The teams traded points as the Cougars led 12-11. Clemson responded with a pair of kills from Yaz, who had six kills in the set, to take a 14-12 lead. Following a Charleston kill, Yaz put down the final point.

The Cougars handed the Tigers their first set loss of the season with a 25-17 win. Clemson led 12-8, but a timeout sent the Cougars on a big run, as they took advantage of several Clemson miscues to go on an 11-1 run to close the set. The Tigers hit just .136 while allowing the Cougars to hit .333.

Clemson fought back in the second set with a 26-24 set win. The College of Charleston led by three as late as 19-16, but a Hoover timeout sent the Tigers on a 5-1 run to take a 21-20 lead. Charleston responded and actually held a set point at 24-23, but Clemson responded with the next three points to win the set 26-24 and knot the match at one-all.

The Tigers grabbed the match lead back with a strong third set, 25-15 win. The Tigers had six aces and four blocks in the set. The Tigers held the Cougars to a -.074 hitting percentage.

Clemson led the fourth set, 12-10, when the College of Charleston called a timeout, sparking an 11-3 run to give them a 21-15 advantage. Clemson scored the next three, but couldn’t get any closer as the Cougars forced a fifth and deciding set.

Clemson returns to action on Friday as they head to East Lansing, MI to play in the Spartan Invitational, held at Michigan State University.