WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Clemson Tigers dropped a three-set match (19-25, 22-25, 16-25) to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Sunday afternoon in Reynolds Gym. With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 12-8 (0-8 ACC), while Wake Forest improved to 9-10 (3-5 ACC).
The Demon Deacons held the advantage for the entire first set despite the Tigers outblocking Wake Forest 5-2 in the opening set. Kate Hansen and Nil Okur led the Tigers three blocks apiece, including combining for two in the final 10 combined points of the opening set. Kate Simington and Mia McGrath assisted on two blocks of their own as well.
Clemson battled back in the second and strung together a couple of runs to swap the lead with Wake Forest in a tight set. Kills from Hansen, Okur and Ecem Aksoy, alongside kills and a solo block from McGrath continued to help the Tigers tie the set at 17-all. The two sides tied things up again at 21-21, but Wake Forest went on a 4-1 run to close out the set.
The Tigers looked to flip the script in the third by opening the set with a 5-0 run behind kills from Hansen and Aksoy and an ace by Claire Luoma. The Demon Deacons found their stride and answered with an 11-1 scoring run to take the lead, which was not forfeited the remainder of the set. Hansen and Okur broke up the stretch with their fifth combined block each, and Addi Rains added an ace down the stretch, but the Tigers dropped the match in three sets.
Tiger Leaders/Highlights:
Up Next
The Tigers return to Jervey Gym to continue ACC play by welcoming both Stanford (Friday, Oct. 24) and Cal (Sunday, Oct. 26) to town for the first time since the duo joined the ACC prior to the 2024 season. The match against Stanford is slated for a 6 p.m. first serve on ACCNX, while Sunday’s matchup against Cal is at 1 p.m. on ACCNX. All matches inside Jervey Gym are free and open to the public.
