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19th-Ranked Tigers Cruise to Season-Opening Victory Over Syracuse, 3-0, On Friday

19th-Ranked Tigers Cruise to Season-Opening Victory Over Syracuse, 3-0, On Friday

Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score

CLEMSON, SC – The Tiger veterans started the 2008 season where they left off in 2007, and several new faces debuted as the 19th-ranked Clemson volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (26-24, 25-11, 25-19) win over Syracuse in the 18th Annual Big Orange Bash on Friday night. Day two of the tournament will begin tomorrow at 10:00 am at Jervey Gym with the Orange taking on Florida International. Clemson will be in action at 12:00 pm against Charleston Southern before facing Florida International in the tournament finale at 6:00 pm.

Visit the Big Orange Bash page at for links to livestats and final stats for all the matches.

Danielle Hepburn clinched the win for the Tigers with her 11th kill of the night to tie Lia Proctor for match-high honors. The senior from Miami, FL also posted five kills on the night to help Clemson record eight team blocks in the contest and hold Syracuse to 29 kills. Libero Didem Ege tallied 12 digs and setter Kelsey Murphy notched 30 assists, as the juniors continue to inch closer to career records.

Sophomore Meghan Hinemeyer earned her first career start and a trio of freshmen saw the court. Lisa Jedlicka, who red-shirted the 2007 season, started in the middle, but newcomer Brittany Fennell also played in two sets. They combined for six kills, while rookie Lacy Hayes added a pair of kills and block assists on the right side.

With her six kills on Friday, senior Jeannette Abbott surpassed current assistant coach Jodi Steffes Welp for seventh place on the career list with 1,426.

Sarah Morton led Syracuse with nine kills in the effort while Marissa Kanemura totaled nine digs for the night.

The Tigers scored the first point of their 2008 season and never trailed, but they barely eeked out the win in the first set. Leading 19-12, the Orange capitalized on several Clemson errors to narrow the gap to just two points. Syracuse tied the score at 24 after Morton posted a solo block and kill. Proctor gave the serve back to Clemson with a kill of her own and a Syracuse error clinched the set for the Tigers.

Clemson settled into the second set and controlled the action. Hepburn had five kills in the frame to lead the Tiger offense, and the host team pulled ahead, 21-7, on Ege’s serve.

After four straight Tiger points to start the third set, neither team could put together a run and the score remained tight for the first half of the frame. However, the Clemson blockers found their spot midway through and Hepburn’s presence at the net was felt. She combined with Abbott and Murphy for points 15 and 16 and recorded a solo block to give the Tigers an 18-12 advantage. The Orange was unable to match the Clemson run and the teams traded points until Hepburn’s kill sealed the win.

In the first match of the tournament, Florida International posted a 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-13) win over Charleston Southern. The Golden Panthers were in control the entire contest and were led by Yarimar Rosa who totaled team-highs of 14 kills and 12 defensive saves. Sabrina Gonzalez and Isadora Rangel added 10 kills apiece for Florida International as the Golden Panthers hit .337 for the match. Amberle Trinder and Amanda Hill tied for high kill honors for Charleston Southern.

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