CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers (12-6, 0-6 ACC) dropped a three-set match (23-25, 19-25, 22-25) to the Duke Blue Devils (5-12, 2-4 ACC) on Sunday afternoon inside Jervey Gym. Redshirt sophomore Katherine Sandt finished with her seventh double-double of the season after leading the Tigers in assists and digs, while senior Mia McGrath finished with a team-high 14 kills.
The Blue Devils took an early lead in the opening set that forced Clemson to use both of its timeouts while trailing 14-7. The Tigers battled back to tie the set at 21-all after a three-point run led by a solo block by Khaya Gordon and a six-point run led by two kills from Katie Hurta, an ace by Addi Rains and a solo block by Bianca Martinez. Mia McGrath provided two kills in the final combined six points, but Duke came away with the opening, 25-23.
Duke jumped out to another early advantage in the second that forced Clemson to use one of its timeouts. The Tigers were able to cut the lead down to one following a kill from Hurta and a combined block by Simington and Nil Okur, but the Blue Devils went on a 7-3 run that led to Duke taking a two-set advantage into the third.
The Tigers came out firing in the third to hold an 8-3 advantage following a three-point run with kills by Hurta, McGrath and a combined block by Okur and Martinez. The Blue Devils responded to tie the set at 12-all, and both programs traded scoring runs to remain within a two-point spread of one another. Martinez notched a kill and combined with Okur on another block, and a Duke service error gave the Tigers a 21-20 advantage, but the Blue Devils answered with a 5-1 run to take the set and match.
Tiger Leaders/Highlights:
Up Next
The Tigers hit the road for a weekend road stretch at NC State (Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.) and at Wake Forest (Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.). Both matches can be streamed on ACCNX.
