CLEMSON, S.C. – In front of 1,340 fans, the Clemson Volleyball team took the first set against No. 3 Louisville before ultimately dropping the match in four (25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 15-25) in the final home match of the 2023 season. Following the loss, Clemson moves to 15-11 overall (6-8 ACC) to conclude the home slate.
Kateryna Tkachenko and Kennedy Wagner led the Tigers offensively with nine kills each, while Azyah Dailey finished with eight. Defensively, Devan Taylor finished with a team-high 10 digs, and Adria Powell posted four blocks, while Mckenna Slavik added three blocks and nine digs. Slavik also led the team with 34 assists, while Powell finished the match with three of Clemson’s six aces.
Behind a .375 hitting percentage, three aces and three blocks in the opening frame, the Clemson volleyball team steamed to an opening set victory against the Cardinals. The set win marked the first time Clemson had taken a set from Louisville since 2018 and marked only the third set win against Louisville in program history. Seven different Tigers tallied a kill in the first set being led by Azyah Dailey finishing with three. Kennedy Wagner, Devan Taylor and Mia McGrath finished with an ace, while Adria Powell led the program with three blocks, all assisted.
Louisville took control of the second set early by jumping out to a 13-6 advantage. The Tigers slowly started to chip away as Wagner, Powell and Kateryna Tkachenko came up with a string of kills, and Powell added an ace. Clemson pulled within one to make it 23-22 after a 3-0 by the Tigers that included a solo block from Wagner. The Tiger offense finished with a .393 hitting percentage in the second set, but unfortunately dropped the set, 25-23.
The Tigers attempted to keep the third set close with Kate Simington and Tkachenko battling at the net for kills and Slavik and Powell combining for a block. Powell added two aces during the match to pull Clemson within two making it 19-17, but Louisville closed out the set with a 6-1 scoring run to take the 2-1 advantage heading to the fourth. In the fourth, Clemson trailed early after Louisville took a 14-6 lead. Dailey, Simington, Powell and Wagner continued to push the tempo offensively for the Tigers though, clocking kills to pull Clemson within five. The Cardinals finished the match on a 7-3 run to take set four and the match.
Today’s match marked the final match in the current Jervey Gym setup, as Clemson Athletics begins the process of renovating the gym that includes raising the roof, as well as a new locker room, lounge and meeting areas for the volleyball program, and major improvements to the gameday experience. In total, the renovation will reallocate 14,000 square feet of space. Learn more about the full project here.
Up Next
The Tigers begin a three-week road stretch next Friday, Nov. 10 traveling to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish for the second time in a week’s span with a 7 p.m. matchup on ACCNX. The four matches over the next three weeks will conclude the 2023 regular season.
