NEW ORLEANS, La. – Behind nine aces and 10 blocks, the Clemson Volleyball team defeated Tulane in three-straight sets, to move to 2-0 on the weekend and 8-3 on the season. The highlight of the match came as junior libero Devan Taylor notched a team-high 12 digs to reach 1,000 on her career. She became the first Tiger since Emily Curtis in 2019 to reach 1,000-career digs accomplishing the feat in 70 matches.
The 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-20, 25-13) by the Tigers came after freshmen Kennedy Wagner finished with five aces, and Audrey Armbruster added two. Taylor and Katie Culumovic added the final two aces. Adria Powell once again led Clemson with seven blocks, all assisted, while Azyah Dailey and Katie Hurta added four and three, respectively. Culumovic finished with her first-career double-double as a Tiger, clocking 15 assists and 10 digs, while Mia McGrath led Clemson with eight kills.
Tulane started with the edge in the first, but a four-point and five-point scoring run by the TIgers sparked by a solo block and two kills from McGrath helped Clemson forge ahead to a 17-9 advantage. The Green Wave pulled back within two points, but back-to-back combined blocks from Dailey and Powell limited any sort of response, and a kill from McGrath closed the set, 25-22.
The Tigers stayed hot to open the second forcing Tulane to take an early timeout as Clemson led 6-1. The Green Wave cut into the lead, but a kill from Hurta and an ace from Armbruster put Clemson back on the right path. Culumovic continued to apply pressure with an ace of her own, and McGrath and Kate Simington added kills down the stretch to help the Tigers to a 25-20 set win.
Clemson didn’t let up in the third, opening the set with a 5-2 run behind another ace from Armbruster. Tulane grabbed two quick points, but Wagner shined at the service line clocking four aces in a five-point span as Clemson went on a 7-0 run. Taylor finished with an ace of her own to make it 14-6 for the Tigers. Clemson closed out the set, and the match, with crucial points from Simington, Hurta, McGrath and Powell to spur the 25-13 win.
Up Next
Clemson concludes the weekend and non-conference action tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. ET facing UTEP.
