Clemson Volleyball Opens Season with 3-0 Win Over Jacksonville

Aug. 27, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team moved to 1-0 on the season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) win over the Jacksonville (0-1) in front of 1,026 boisterous fans at Jervey Gymnasium. Clemson used a balanced offense and aggressive defense to win their opening match of the Big Orange Bash.

Clemson will return to action on Saturday with a pair of matches at noon and 6:00 pm as part of the tournament. Both matches will be available on TigerCast at ClemsonTigers.com. Jacksonville plays Albany at 10:00 am, and Tennessee Tech at 4:00 pm. All matches have free admission.

The new-look Tigers played five sophomores, three freshmen, and a senior in the match. The Tigers recorded 13 kills in each of the three sets, getting a team-high ten from Sandra Adeleye, nine from Serenat Yaz, and nine from freshman Mo Simmons.

Clemson hit .263 for the match, and held the Dolphins to a .025 hitting night, forcing 26 errors, ten of which were blocks.

Senior Cansu Ozdemir played her first career match at the libero spot, recording 18 digs on the night. Sophomore Lacy Hayes shouldered the setting load, posting a strong all-around night of 32 assists, nine digs, and four blocks.

Clemson, which led the ACC in blocks last season, had ten in the three sets, led by redshirt sophomore Brooke Kohler’s six block assists.

Several Tigers came up just shy of double-doubles, as Simmons had ten digs with her nine kills, Yaz had 12 digs with her nine kills, and Hayes needed one more dig.

The Tigers took the first set in decisive fashion behind five kills from Simmons and four from Yaz. Lacy Hayes guided the Tigers to a .281 hitting mark in the set with 12 assists. Defensively, the Tigers held Jacksonville to a .000 hitting mark (8-8-42), as Simmons and Ozdemir each had six digs in the set.

Clemson took a 2-0 lead into intermission with a 25-21 win. The Tiger defense was stout again, holding the Dolphins to a .068 hitting mark. The Tigers had three blocks in the set, and five players recorded at least two kills. Ozdemir posted eight digs in the set to lead all players with 14 at the break.

Clemson took control of the third set quickly, racing out to an 8-4 lead behind two Adeleye locks. The Tigers advantage to 16-9 on an Adeleye kill, and went on a 7-2 run to take a 23-13 lead. Brooke Kohler’s found a spot between the teeth of the defense to record the final point of the match.