Gordon, Moore and Okur Power Tigers Past Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior Khaya Gordon, senior Mia Moore and senior Nil Okur all recorded career-highs in kills to propel the Clemson Tigers (15-10, 3-10 ACC) to a four-set (25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 25-16) win against the Syracuse Orange (13-10, 5-8 ACC) on Friday evening. The trio of Tigers all notched double-digit kills with a minimum .278 hitting percentage, including Okur finishing with a .636 after going 14-for-22 with no errors.

The Tigers forced Syracuse to take an early timeout after going on a 7-0 run that turned into an 8-0 after Katherine Sandt tallied two aces, Gordon and Moore clocked a kill each and Moore combined for a block with Okur. The Orange went on a run of their own to cut the lead down to three, but Okur, Gordon and Kate Hansen extended the Tigers’ lead back to seven with kills to make it 20-13 when the Orange used their second timeout. Clemson didn’t relent and went on a 5-2 run to cap the set win, 25-15.

The Orange jumped out to the lead in set two, but Clemson bounced back with kills from Hansen, Gordon and Sandt. Hansen secured Clemson’s third ace by the night to give the Tigers a one-point advantage that was maintained into the media timeout. Syracuse reclaimed the lead, but kills from Gordon and Okur, as well as a combined block by Okur and Sandt tied the set at 20-all. The two programs traded points, but Syracuse leveled the match by taking set two, 25-23.

Similar to the first set, Clemson had the advantage early after Okur powered the Tigers with a kill and two assisted blocks. Moore, Gordon and Hansen tacked on kills that had Syracuse calling timeout. McKenna Gildon added an ace, and Hansen contributed to a pair of blocks that helped Clemson extend its lead to five points. The Orange cut it down to one point before eventually tying the set at 23-all, Mia McGrath picked up back-to-back kills to secure the 26-24 set win.

Set four had the Tigers stringing together a five-point, three-point, and four-point run that were highlighted by aces from Hansen and Claire Luoma as well as multiple kills from Gordon and Moore. McGrath and Sandt help the advantage extend to six points, while kills from Gordon, Okur and Moore sealed the set and match win alongside another ace from Luoma.

Tiger Leaders/Highlights:

• Points: Mia Moore – 19.5
• Kills: Khaya Gordon – 18
• Digs: McKenna Gildon & Katherine Sandt – 15
• Assists: Sandt – 49
• Blocks: Nil Okur – 6
• Aces: Kate Hansen, Claire Luoma & Sandt – 2
• Gordon (18), Moore (17) and Okur (14) all tallied career highs in kills
• Moore finished with five blocks, a career high
• Okur’s six blocks tied a season high
• Hansen surpassed 600 career points with 10 behind six kills, three blocks and two aces
• Sandt recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 49 assists and 15 digs
• Gildon tallied double-digit digs for the 19th time this season

Up Next

The Tigers conclude their road stretch on Sunday, Nov. 9 with a matchup at Boston College. Action is slated to begin at 1 p.m. on ACCNX.