Nov 07, 2024

GAMEDAY CENTRAL: Clemson Concludes Cross Country Road Trip at Stanford, Cal

Clemson (8-15, 0-12 ACC) travel to No. 6 Stanford (17-4, 9-3 ACC) and California (10-14, 2-10 ACC)

Clemson: Roster | Schedule | Match Notes (PDF) | Jervey Gym Fan Info

PREVIEW

The Clemson Tigers (8-15, 0-12 ACC) are set to conclude their two-weekend road trip by going up against the No. 6 Stanford Cardinals (17-4, 9-3 ACC) and the California Golden Bears (10-14, 2-10 ACC).
The Tigers will first travel cross country to Stanford, Calif. for their seventh-ranked match of the year against the No. 6 Stanford Cardinals in Maples Pavilion on November 8 at 10 p.m. EST. This will be the first time the two programs will meet in volleyball.
Clemson will then travel across the bay to Berkeley, Calif. to play against the California Golden Bears. The two ACC rivals will meet in Haas Pavilion on November 9 at 10 p.m. EST for the first matchup between the programs.
Both matches will be shown on ACCNX.

FROM SETBACKS TO SUCCESS

During the Tigers match against No. 17 Georgia Tech (10/16), team captain Azyah Dailey notched a career high 30 kills, the highest by any Tiger this season, while hitting .312 and putting up nine digs and a block. Dailey’s 30 kill match is tied for the ninth-most in a match in Clemson history and is the fourth time in program history a 30+ kill game was recorded against Georgia Tech (Leslie Finn – 30, 09/28/04, 30, 11/19/04; Brittany Ross – 32, 11/15/05).
The senior is one of the leading attackers on the team with the third-highest total points, second-highest total attacks and leads the Tigers in kills and kills per set. Dailey is also a threat on the defensive end, having the fourth-highest total blocks and blocks per set on the team.
The link to the full story can be found here.

THE INTERSECTION OF AMBITION & HARD WORK

Senior libero Devan Taylor cemented herself in Clemson Tigers’ lore by surpassing 2024 Clemson Hall of Famer, Julie Rodriguez, to claim the sole possession of the second most career digs in Clemson history during the match against Louisville. Taylor currently has 1,663 digs in her career.
The team captain is also a defensive stalwart. The Texan’s 379 digs and 4.51 digs per set is the highest total and the second-highest rate in the ACC, respectively, and are both top-75 rankings in the nation. Earlier this season, the Texan recorded 34 digs in a five-set thriller against Wofford, tied with Anna Vallinch (34, 09/14/04) for the eighth-most in Tiger history.
A link to Taylor’s journey as a collegiate student-athlete can be found here.

THE KIDS WILL BE ALRIGHT

Neea-Maria Joki continues to lead the Tigers in the service game with a team-high 25 aces and 0.30 aces per set. The freshman additionally sports 2.22 kills per set, the third-highest rate on the team, has the third-most blocks and blocks per set on the team after her seven-block effort against No. 25 North Carolina (11/01) and leads the Tigers in total points with 241.5.
Against No. 17 Georgia Tech (10/16), Katherine Sandt recorded a career-high 63 assists, seven assists away from tying Jessi Betcher (70, 10/03/2000) for the 10th-most assists in a single match in Clemson program history.

TIGERS IN THE PROS

Karis Watson, a four-year letter winner and middle blocker for the Tigers, signed with the Atlanta Vibe in January 2024 for the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF). She recorded double digit kills against San Diego where she also put up four blocks and three digs and notched four kills, four blocks and three digs in the inaugural PVF match. Recently, Beta Dumancic joined Watson as the second Clemson alumni to join the PVF when she signed with the Columbus Fury.
Recent Clemson Volleyball alumni, Mckenna Slavik and Adria Powell, both signed overseas to begin their professional volleyball careers. Slavik signed with AEK Larnaca out of Karavas, Cypress, the same club that Head Coach Jackie Simpson Kirr played for, while Powell signed with VfB Suhl Lotto Thurigen located in Suhl, Germany.

For complete coverage of the Clemson volleyball team, follow @ClemsonVB on X and Instagram, and @ClemsonVolleyball on Facebook.