Volleyball Wins Second Straight Road ACC Match

Oct. 9, 2004

Winston-Salem, NC – Clemson won its second consecutive ACC road match on Saturday, downing Wake Forest 3-1 (30-26, 28-30, 30-24, 30-22) in Winston-Salem. The Tigers improved their record to 11-7 overall, 3-3 in ACC play. With the loss, Wake Forest dropped to 8-8, 0-6 in league play.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Jolene Jordan Hoover, head coach of the Tigers. “We were determined and focused to go 2-0 on the weekend. There is a lot of parity in the ACC, so it’s a battle every night. It was good to get another road win.”

Leslie Finn led the Tigers with 22 kills on the night. Finn, who entered the weekend second in the ACC with 5.23 kills per game, had 44 kills over the two-day span. Lori Ashton added 13 kills and seven total blocks for Clemson. As a team, the Tigers had 13.0 team blocks, including three solo by Ashton. Anna Vallinch topped the 20-dig mark for the sixth time, totaling 21 digs in the match.

For Wake Forest, Valerie Rydberg and Morgan Havig turned in solid performances. Rydberg had a match-high 28 digs, while Havig had eight block assists on the night.

Clemson trailed 5-1 in the first game, but rallied to win 11 of the next 13 points and controlled the game the rest of the way. Ashton had six kills and four blocks in that game. In game two, the action was close the entire way. Wake Forest eventually won by two, but Finn had seven kills for the Tigers in the game.

Clemson again trailed in game three, this time at 14-12. But the Tigers reeled off six in a row to take control. The Tigers had 4.0 team blocks in the third game. In the fourth and final game, Clemson had streaks of seven and six consecutive points en route to the 30-22 victory.

The Tigers have a week off before hosting ACC foes Maryland and Virginia next weekend in Clemson. The Tigers and Terrapins square off Friday at 7:00 PM, while the match between Virginia and Clemson is set for 6:00 PM on Saturday.