Photos by Daniel Brandalise, Clemson Athletic Communications
CLEMSON, S.C. – Despite a season-high 19 kills from Clemson right side hitter Solei Thomas, Boston College improved to 10-4 on the season after defeating the Tigers in four sets (25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 23-25), Friday night in Jervey Gym. With the loss, Clemson slipped to 6-6 on the season.
Box Score
The Tigers looked sharp in the beginning as they jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the opening set. BC chipped away at the Tiger lead, cutting it to five points, but the Eagles ran out of time as Mckenna Slavik and Ani Clark teamed up for a block to end the set, 25-20, in Clemson’s favor. In the second, Thomas started to come alive as she tallied five of her 19 kills in the second frame while hitting .556 in contrast to Clemson’s .075 hitting percentage as a team. The Tigers took the lead late in the second, 19-17, but BC claimed eight of the last 10 points of the game to take the set 25-21 and even the match 1-1.
Coming out of the break, Clemson Head Coach Michaela Franklin looked to her bench, inserting Ava Pritchard and Gabby Easton into the lineup looking for a spark. Thomas continued to lead the way for the Tigers as she posted eight kills in set No. 3. Once again, another late BC run – this one 3-0 – gave the Eagles set point, 24-20, but a Clemson service ace handed the Eagles the set and a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, BC hitters were firing from all directions as six different Eagles registered multiple kills and a team hitting percentage of .325. BC took a five-point lead, 17-12, in the middle of the fourth, but Clemson would chip away throughout the set. Back-to-back Clemson points narrowed the Clemson deficit, 24-23, prompting a BC timeout. Coming out of the huddle, the Eagles registered their 57th kill of the contest to seal the set, 25-23, and match.
Clark added six kills and six blocks while hitting .333 for the match. Defensively, Clemson was led by senior libero Emily Curtis who dug a match-high 15 opponent attacks.
Up next, Clemson returns to Jervey Gym on Sunday, Sept. 29 to take on Syracuse (3-4, 0-0 ACC) at 1 p.m. Sunday’s contest against the Orange is set to stream on ACCNX. For live stats, visit ClemsonTigers.com.
For complete coverage of the Clemson Volleyball team, follow @ClemsonVB on Twitter and Instagram, and @ClemsonVolleyball on Facebook.
