Clemson Volleyball Defeats Virginia, 3-1, on Saturday

Nov. 21, 2009

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson volleyball team moved closer to their goal of an NCAA bid on Saturday, taking down the Virginia Cavaliers, 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-15) for their eighth win in the last nine matches. Lia Proctor had her sixth 20-kill match of the season, and had her 14th double-double, tallying 16 digs.

The Tigers (23-8, 13-6 ACC) dropped the first set, but roared back to win the next three sets by a total of 19 points. Sandra Adeleye had 15 kills for the second consecutive night, and added five blocks to give her nine on the weekend. Proctor, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, had 35 kills against the two Virginia schools, and had a double-double in each match.

Didem Ege was honored before the match for breaking the ACC’s all-time record for career digs. She notched 21 more on Saturday night to giver her 2,272 in her career, extending her ACC record.

Fellow Istanbul natives Cansu Ozdemir and Lisa Jedlicka added five kills and three block off the bench for Clemson, and freshman Natalie Patzin had seven kills and seven digs on the night.

The Cavaliers (12-18, 7-12 ACC) were led by Simone Asque, who had 17 kills.

Virginia took the first set behind eight kills from Asque. Adeleye and Proctor each had four kills and a block. The set was one of runs, as UVA used a 5-1 run to take a 17-14 lead. The Tigers fought back to take a 21-19 lead. However, Virginia fought back with a 6-1 run to close out the set behind three Asque kills.

The Tigers controlled the second set throughout, jumping out to a quick 8-4 cushion, and maintaining the edge fo the duration of the set. The Tiger lead went to as many as seven at 23-16, and the Tigers ended up taking the set, 25-18. Clemson hit .485 (17k-1ae-33a) in the set, but also allowed the Cavaliers to hit .378. Proctor and Adeleye each had five kills to counter the Cavalier attack.

The third set was the turning point of the match, as Clemson rallied from a 19-14 deficit to win and take a 2-1 lead. The 11-4 run was sparked by two kills apiece from Jedlicka and Proctor. Didem Ege had eight digs in the set as Proctor again registered five kills.

The final set was all Tigers, using an early 11-0 run during Yaz’s serve to take a 13-3 lead. Virginia pulled back to within six at 13-7, but Clemson pulled away as they registered four blocks while Proctor registered six kills. The Tigers held the Cavaliers to a -.061 hitting mark in the set to win 25-15.

The Tigers close out the regular season on Friday, Nov. 27 at 5:00pm in Jervey Gymnasium. The Tigers will then await word on an NCAA tournament bid, which will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 29 on ESPNNEWS.