CLEMSON, S.C. – Behind 15 kills from freshman Kennedy Wagner and 12 from junior Azyah Dailey, the Clemson volleyball team captured a 3-1 (18-25, 29-27, 25-18, 25-16) victory against Middle Tennessee to open the season in Jervey Gym on Friday evening. The 1,294 fans in attendance marked the most for a home opener since Head Coach Jackie Simpson Kirr’s joined the Clemson staff as the associate head coach.
Middle Tennessee kept the Tigers at bay in the opening set with six different players tallying a kill compared to Clemson’s four. Junior libero Devan Taylor was the lone Tiger to get an ace in the frame, which led to a lopsided 25-18 first set.
Clemson bounced back in the second set as the team picked up four aces. The Tigers jumped ahead in the set after clocking four-consecutive points off a kill from Kateryna Tkachenko, an ace from Mckenna Slavik and back-to-back kills from Dailey that forced Middle Tennessee to call timeout trailing by six. MTSU pushed back to even things at 23-all before a service error by the Blue Raiders, a kill from Dailey and a combined block from Dailey and Adria Powell sealed the set victory, 29-27.
Dailey continued to be a force at the net for the Tigers coming back in the third set with another block. Tkachenko, Powell and Wagner came up with crucial kills down the stretch in the third to help Clemson to a 22-17 advantage before sophomore Becca Micelle tabbed an ace and Dailey clocked two kills to take the third set, 25-18.
The Tigers kept rolling into the fourth set as Powell picked up another early kill for the Tigers. Freshman Kate Simington combined for a block with Tkachenko, and Slavik earned another ace to lead the team with three on the match, as Clemson pushed ahead 12-7. In fitting fashion, the fourth set was won behind the kill efforts of Dailey and a solo block from Wagner to give the Tigers the 25-16 win.
Dailey led the Tigers with five blocks (one solo, four assisted), while Powell and Simington each added a solo block and three block assists. Slavik added eight points for the Tigers finishing with a team-high three aces, while freshman Courtney Nix tallied two aces and 10 digs in her collegiate debut.
Up Next
The Tigers conclude action at the Big Orange Bash on Sunday with a single game against Wofford at 1 p.m. inside Jervey Gym. Fans not able to attend the match can watch the broadcast on ACCNX.
