Clemson Announces 2006 Volleyball Schedule

May 4, 2006

Jolene Jordan Hoover, head coach of the Clemson volleyball team, has announced her squad’s schedule for the 2006 season. The Tigers will play 16 matches at Jervey Gymnasium, while facing 14 teams on the road. During the 22-match ACC schedule, Clemson will also face three 2005 NCAA Tournament participants in Duke, Maryland and North Carolina.

Clemson will begin the season at the Purdue Tournament in West Lafayette, IN on Aug. 25-26 where they will face Bradley, Northern Iowa and host Purdue in the two-day event. Purdue is also a 2005 NCAA Tournament team, the fourth on the Tigers’ schedule, as the Boilermakers advanced to the Elite Eight of last year’s event, falling to the eventual champion Washington. Clemson’s home schedule kicks off with a bang against in-state rival South Carolina on Thursday Aug. 31 in the first match of the 2006 Big Orange Bash. Tennessee State, Western Carolina and UNC-Charlotte will also compete in the 17th annual tournament. In the team’s only other non-conference match, the Tigers will play host to Furman on Sept. 16.

“Our 2006 schedule will be challenging with the Purdue tournament, our tournament and the double round robin in the ACC,” Hoover said. “In moving to the double round robin format in the league, that only allows us six out of conference dates that we can schedule. The conference will be strong, and by playing a challenging pre-conference schedule, we hope to prepare ourselves for competing for the ACC title.”

The 2006 season marks the second year of the 22-match, home-and-home format of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule without the presence of a conference tournament. Clemson will open league play on the road against Duke on Sept 22 and will play host to Miami on Sept. 29 for the first home ACC contest. The Tigers will play five straight road contests towards the end of the season, beginning with the Florida State contest on Nov. 3. They will then have four home matches to close out the regular season, including the regular season finale against Virginia on Nov. 24.

The Tigers return 11 letterwinners from the 2005 season, including ACC and AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year Jeannette Abbott and second-team All-ACC honoree Brittany Ross. Libero Anna Vallinch and setter Dawn Robertson will return for their senior seasons, while Meghan Steiner, Leslie Mansfield, Courtney Lawrence and Ross will enter their third year with the Tiger program. Abbott and Danielle Hepburn, both starters in 2005, will begin their sophomore seasons, as will Katie Bridges and red-shirt sophomore Laura Boozer. Hoover will add three newcomers to the squad in 2006, as Didem Ege, Kelsey Murphy and Lia Proctor will join the program in August.

2006 Clemson University Volleyball Schedule

* Tentative – Pending Football Start Time $ – Purdue Tournament, West Lafayette, IN # Big Orange Bash – field includes Clemson, South Carolina, Tennessee State, Western Carolina and UNC-Charlotte As of 04/12/06