CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers fell in three sets to Duke on Sunday afternoon inside Jervey Gym. The three-set match (19-25, 19-25, 20-25), moved Clemson to 12-10 (3-7 ACC) on the year. Mckenna Slavik finished with her ninth double-double of 2023 with 22 assists and 10 digs, while Kateryna Tkachenko led the offense with six kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
The Tigers maintained the advantage in both blocks (three) and digs (12) in the opening set. With Adria Powell adding her 107th and 108th blocks of the 2023 season, she led four additional Tigers to combine for a block. Mckenna Slavik posted four digs in the opening frame, followed by Devan Taylor, Mia McGrath and McKenna Gildon all adding two. On the offensive side, Clemson tallied 10 kills.
Clemson came alive at the service line in the second set as Powell picked up two aces, and Gildon added one of her own. With a spread offense, Clemson had Powell, Katie Hurta, and Kennedy Wagner clocking two kills each, while Azyah Dailey, Kateryna Tkachenko and McGrath added one. Slavik led the Tigers with 14 assists and five digs through the first two sets.
The Tigers continued to push things in the third set as Tkachenko tallied four of her six kills in the set and added an ace. Kate Simington, who finished the match with five kills, and Mia Moore also contributed three kills each in the third to help Clemson stay in the match, while Powell finished with a solo block and block assist to end the afternoon with four blocks and tie with Tkachenko with a team-high 7.5 points. Slavik closed out the match with five digs to give her the double-double and lead the team.
Up Next
The Tigers hit the road next weekend traveling to Syracuse (Oct. 27) and Boston College (Oct. 29). Clemson will begin its road stretch at Syracuse at 6 p.m. on Friday on ACCNX, before concluding weekend action on the ACC Network at noon on Sunday against Boston College.
