Clemson Sweeps Furman 3-0 in Volleyball Tuesday Night

Oct. 5, 2004

Greenville, SC – Clemson volleyball improved to 9-7 on the season after a three-game sweep of Furman (30-25, 30-25, 30-28) in non-conference action from Timmons Arena on Tuesday evening. The Paladins fell to 7-9 overall with the loss.

Leslie Finn had 18 kills on the night, and in doing so she became just the fifth Tiger ever to record 1,500 career kills. Finn trails former Tiger great Alison Coday for fourth place on the all-time list. Lori Ashton hit .560 to lead the Tiger attack. She had 17 kills, compared to just three errors. Anna Vallinch had 15 digs to lead the backcourt, while Meg Steiner had three total blocks for Clemson.

Furman was led by Chibuzo Aguocha, who had 16 kills on the night. Whitney Purser added 11 kills, two service aces, two block assists, and 11 digs in a fine all-around effort.

Clemson got off to a 5-0 start and led 14-8 in game one before Furman made a scoring run. The Paladins reeled off six straight points to tie the game at 14-14. After that, the Tigers scored 11 of the next 15 points to take a seven-point lead that it would not relinquish, winning by a score of 30-25.

The Tigers benefited from eight attack errors and three service errors by Furman in the second game. The Paladins did get as close as 15-14, but the Tigers pulled away toward the end of the game and eventually won 30-25. After hitting .400 in game one, Clemson limited Furman’s attack to a .175 percentage in the second.

In game three, Clemson maintained a steady lead throughout. The Tigers stretched the lead to as large as 20-14, before holding on for the narrow 30-28 win. Furman closed to within one point, but Finn’s last kill put the Paladins away.

The Tigers return to the court Friday to take on Duke in an ACC road contest. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Clemson then travels to Winston-Salem, NC on Saturday to take on Wake Forest.