CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) decision to No. 25 North Carolina in a packed Jervey Gym, drawing the Tigers’ 2024 season to a close. Junior pin attacker Mia Moore had 11.5 points to lead the Tigers, which included career highs of ten kills and six digs, and adding career-high-tying three total blocks. The Tar Heels (22-7, 14-6 ACC) outhit the Tigers .296 to .069, and had four players with eight or more kills in the contest.
Clemson finished the 2024 season with a 11-20 overall record and a 3-17 record in ACC play, but finished the year with its most team digs since 2013 (1,791) and most team solo blocks (92) since the 2008 team had 100. The Jervey Gym atmosphere was among its best of the season, with 920 fans piling in the third-highest total of the season.
While the Tigers hosted Senior Day during its previous homestand, Friday’s match saw the final appearance in a Clemson uniform from four-year contributors Azyah Dailey and Devan Taylor. Taylor finished with 10 digs in the match, ending her career with 1,754, the second-most in Clemson history, and 3.58 digs per set, the third-best mark in school history. Dailey closed her Clemson career appearing in 92 matches, totaling 689 kills, 200 digs and 148 total blocks and averaged 3.10 kills per set her senior season with a team-high 307 kills.
Clemson came out quickly, scoring the first four points of the match. The Tigers held leads throughout the early part of the set, including at 13-10. The Tar Heels would score ten of the next twelve points to grab a 20-15 advantage, and go on to win the first set, 25-18. Moore led the Tigers with four kills on nine swings, and Devan Taylor added a team-high six digs.
The Tar Heels continued their strong play, opening up an early 9-4 lead before the Tigers would close the deficit to three on a Moore kill. The teams traded points until a string of four in a row from UNC gave them a seven-point edge, 17-10. But the Tigers struck back behind a pair of blocks from Moore and Indigo Young to pull within three. North Carolina scored the set’s final four points to win the second set, 25-18. Moore added five more kills to bring her total to a career-high-tying nine through two sets, to go with six digs and three total blocks.
The Tar Heels got off to a fast start in the third set, taking a 13-4 advantage and prompting a Clemson timeout. The Tigers were able to close the gap to 17-11 behind Moore’s tenth kill, and further to 23-18 late in the set behind a pair of kills from Neea-Maria Joki. But North Carolina would score two of the next three in closing out the third, 25-19.
Indigo Young was honored prior to the match to commemorate scoring her 1,000th career point, which came during Clemson’s match against No. 23 Florida State on Nov. 24.