Clemson Tops Virginia, 3-1, on Friday in Charlottesville

Oct. 21, 2011

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Clemson volleyball team bounced back from a pair of losses last weekend with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 27-25, 25-20) win over the Virginia Cavaliers (8-12, 2-8 ACC) on Friday night in Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, VA. Mo Simmons had a career night for Clemson (14-7, 6-4 ACC), tying a personal best with 16 kills, and setting a new standard of 15 digs for her second career double-double.

Hannah Brenner guided Clemson to a .321 hitting night, including a .396 mark after a first-set Virginia win. Sandra Adeleye had an outstanding night as well, nailing 16 kills and hitting .560, while also turning away a team-high six blocks.

“We did a really good job as a team of keeping our composure, to bounce back after the first set,” said Jolene Jordan Hoover, who won her 392nd career match at Clemson. “I’m really proud of how we battled, and a lot of the sets were close point-for-point, and it was a great road win.”

Cansu Ozdemir finished with 15 digs, leaving her one short of 1,000 for her career, and also had five kills and two assists.

Alexa Rand had eight kills and hit .438, while moving into 6th on the all-time block assists list.

Friday’s match was the fifth time in 2011 that the Tigers dropped the first set and went on to win the match. The Tigers will stay in Virginia for a Sunday showdown with the Virginia Tech Hokies, who defeated Georgia Tech on Friday to improve to 12-9 and 5-5 in ACC play.

Virginia got on the board first with a 25-19 win in the first set, despite six service aces. The Cavs turned a tight, 12-12 set on its head with a 9-1 run to take an eight point lead, and they’d go on to win, 25-19, hitting .359 while holding Clemson to a .088 mark.

The Tigers responded in a big way in the second set, and used an 8-0 and a 7-0 run in the set to win, 25-15 to tie the match at 1-1. Adeleye and Rand combined for nine kills in ten swings, as the Tigers hit .481 in the set with 15 kills. Adeleye also got in on four blocks, and Simmons did not register a kills, but had five digs and a pair of blocks, including a huge solo to give the Tigers a 23-13 lead.

The Cavs held control of the third for most of play, and had Clemson’s backs to the wall at 20-18. But Serenat Yaz had her only kill of the set, and Simmons added a kill to tie it up. Rand and Yaz then combined on a block to give the Tigers a one-point lead. The Cavs called timeout and went ahead, 23-22, but a pair of Simmons kills set up set point for Clemson. Virginia fought off a pair of set points, but a kill from Adeleye and a Mallory Woolridge attack sailed long to give the Tigers a 27-25 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match. Simmons had nine kills in the set, and Adeleye also added six, as the Tigers had 21 total.

The fourth set was tight as well. Clemson looked to pull away at 17-13 on a kill by Adeleye, but Virginia clawed back to within one at 19-18. Clemson responded with a 5-0 run on Brenner’s serve to set up match point. The Cavs fought off two before a Simmons kill clinched the match, 25-20.

After playing Virginia Tech, Clemson will return home to host the Dig Pink match on Friday against Duke, and will play Wake Forest on Saturday at 5:00 pm.