Clemson Volleyball Notches Eighth Straight Win With 3-0 Victory Over Georgia Tech On Tuesday

Oct. 17, 2006

CLEMSON, SC – Junior Meghan Steiner led the Clemson volleyball team to its eighth straight victory with a 3-0 (30-23, 30-25, 30-27) win over Georgia Tech at Jervey Gym on Tuesday night. The Crystal Lake, IL native tallied a team-best 13 kills while setting a career high with a .600 hitting percentage.

Since falling in the first game against Miami on Sept. 29, Clemson has won 21 games in a row, sweeping its last seven opponents en route to a 13-4 overall record and an 8-1 ledger against ACC competition.

The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 10-9 overall with a 2-7 mark in conference matches.

The Tigers continued their dominance at the net, posting 11 total team blocks on Tuesday night and improving their ACC-leading average to 3.35 blocks per game. Danielle Hepburn, who was ranked seventh in the nation before tonight’s contest with a 1.7 blocks per game average, recorded six block assists to pace Clemson.

Georgia Tech’s Talisa Kellogg led all hitters with 17 kills in the match, while libero Abby Showers tallied 18 defensive saves.

The two teams traded points for much of the first game and were tied a total of 11 times. The Tigers scored three straight points on a kill and an ace by Kelsey Murphy and a solo block by Steiner, taking a 22-18 lead in the match. Clemson took advantage of a second rally to go ahead by eight points, 28-20. The Yellow Jackets notched two points of their own on kills by Lindsey Gray before the Tigers closed out the game on kills by Hepburn.

After another tight beginning, Clemson posted four straight blocks in the second game to take a 15-11 lead and never looked back. The Yellow Jackets had held an early 9-7 lead that the Tigers erased during that stretch as they totaled nine straight points on Didem Ege’s serve. Georgia Tech rallied to narrow the gap to three points at 26-23 but only scored two additional points in the game. Clemson clinched a 2-0 lead in the match on an Ege ace and a Hepburn kill.

The Yellow Jackets again led early in the third game, holding a 10-8 advantage, and stayed close to make the final game the tightest of the match. The Tigers utilized two four-point rallies with the second giving Clemson a 26-20 lead. Georgia Tech avoided four match points with its own four-point rally and the Tigers scored their final point on a kill by Murphy.

Clemson will close out the first half of the ACC season this weekend, as they will travel to Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Tigers will face the Cavaliers in Charlottesville on Friday night and then take on the Hokies on Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg.