Clemson Volleyball Downs NC State In Three On Saturday

Oct. 25, 2008

RALEIGH, NC – Lia Proctor posted 16 kills and Brittany Fennell totaled seven blocks in leading the Clemson volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 26-24) win over NC State on Saturday evening at the Reynolds Coliseum. The Tigers improved to 16-6 on the year and 8-3 in the ACC with the win, while the Wolfpack fell to 9-17 on the year and 3-8 against conference foes in 2008.

Danielle Hepburn also hit in double figures in the match with 10 kills, while setter Kelsey Murphy added five block assists for a Clemson team that posted 13 on the night. The Tigers entered the weekend’s action ranked fifth nationally with a 2.87 blocks per set average.

Isis Gardner led NC State with 12 kills while libero Kelly Wood tallied 18 defensive saves in the effort.

The Tigers opened the match strong offensively, posting 10 of their first 11 points on kills for an 11-7 advantage. The Wolfpack rallied to knot the set, but the Clemson defense recorded back-to-back solo blocks and benefitted from two straight NC State errors to regain the lead. Leading 21-15, the Tigers withstood a Wolfpack rally that cut the margin to just one. Another block by Fennell, the fifth team block of the set for Clemson, returned the service to the Tigers and the visiting team held on for the 25-23 win.

Clemson went up 2-0 with a 25-19 second set victory that included six kills for Proctor. Neither team was able to mount a significant run, but the Tigers slowly built a lead and extended it to 19-12 with a four-point stretch on Jeannette Abbot’s serve. NC State lone rally of three points narrowed the gap to four at 20-16. Clemson responded with kills by Hepburn and Proctor to go back up by seven. Hepburn then scored the final two points for the Tigers, who hit a .360 clip in the frame.

The Wolfpack put together a late run in the third set to take a 22-19 lead, as they took advantage of six Clemson serving errors in the set. However, Proctor and Hepburn stepped up for their team to record back-to-back kills at points 20 and 21 and then again at 22 and 23. An NC State hitting error put the Tigers on top before Arlee Tamietti tied the set at 24 apiece. Proctor’s 16th kill of the night gave Clemson the 25-24 advantage and Hepburn put a ball straight down to score the team’s final point.

The Tigers will return to Jervey Gym next weekend as they play host to Virginia and Virginia Tech. Friday’s match against the Cavaliers has been designated as a Dig for a Cure event in which the Clemson volleyball team will raise money to support breast cancer research.