Clemson Volleyball Opens 2011 Season on Friday

Aug. 24, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team opens the 2011 season on Friday at 7:00 pm as they play host to Loyola University Maryland in Jervey Gymnasium. The match is part of the 21^st annual Big Orange Bash, which includes Clemson, Tennessee State, Loyola and South Carolina State. Admission to all matches during the weekend are free.

Tennessee State and SC State get the round-robin tournament underway on Friday at 4:30 pm before Clemson takes on Loyola in the nightcap.

On Saturday, the Tigers take on Tennessee State at noon and South Carolina State at 6:00 pm. In other action, Loyola and SC State will play at 10:00 am, and TSU and Loyola play at 4:00 pm.

Each of Clemson’s three matches will be broadcast live on TigerCast on Clemsontigers.com, which will supplement the Gametracker Live Scoring system. Fans can also get live match updates and insight from the site by following @ClemsonVB on twitter.

Friday night will be Fan Appreciation Night in Jervey, and the first 250 fans in attendance will receive a Clemson Volleyball towel.

TigerCast Links:

8/26 vs Loyola | 8/27 vs. Tennessee State | 8/27 vs. SC State

Clemson holds a combine 4-0 record against the three teams, having never met Loyola, holding a 1-0 edge over Tennessee State, and a 3-0 mark over SC state. Clemson and SC State have not met since the 1989 season, and the match against Tennessee State was in 2002.

Quick Notes:

Clemson opens its 35th season of volleyball with the 21st annual Big Orange Bash
Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover is in her 19th season as Clemson’s head coach, and her 378 wins as an ACC head coach rank third in ACC history
Hoover has a 209-81 record at home in her career
The Tigers are 12-6 in season-openers with Hoover at the helm and 15-3 in home season openers, and hold a 26-8 mark in home openers all-time.
Clemson was picked to finish 6th in the ACC by the league’s coaches
Clemson returns all six starters plus the libero from last season’s 18-13 team
Graduate student Cansu Ozdemir is now in her final year of eligibility after receiving a redshirt from her freshman season (2007), in which she did not appear due to injury
Ozdemir is the only senior on the 2011 team as well, as the Tigers feature four juniors, five sophomores, and four freshmen.
Clemson has led the ACC in blocking in each of the previous three seasons
The Tigers have four matches against teams in the preseason AVCA poll, including #2 USC and #9 Florida