Clemson Volleyball Sweeps Florida State, 3-0, On Friday Night In Tallahassee, FL

Nov. 3, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Tiger volleyball team handed the Florida State Seminoles just their fifth conference loss in a one hour and 20 minute match on Friday night at the Lucy McDaniel Court in Tallahassee, FL. The win was Clemson’s 11th sweep of the season and 10th ACC victory, moving them ahead of the Seminoles in the league standings.

Overall, the Tigers improved to 15-7 with their 10-4 mark in ACC play. The loss dropped Florida State to 16-8 overall and 10-5 against conference opponents.

“I was really happy with how we played tonight,” said Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover. “This was a big win for us against a good Florida State team on the road.”

Clemson hit .348 for the match, led by Meghan Steiner’s .636 percentage, a career best for the Crystal Lake, IL native. Jeannette Abbott had a match-high 17 kills in the contest with a .500 hitting percentage. The Tigers also posted 10 total team blocks with Steiner and Danielle Hepburn each recording five on the night. Meanwhile, libero Didem Ege tallied 16 defensive saves to bring her within 15 of the Clemson school freshman record.

Makini Thompson and Malorie Wessel each had eight kills for Florida State while Brianna Barry totaled three total blocks.

Clemson won easily in the first game by a 30-16 margin. After the teams were knotted at 9-9, the Tigers scored four straight points to take the lead. Clemson then went on a seven-point run on Leslie Mansfield. Florida State then posted its 12th point of the game before the Tigers scored four more to go ahead, 25-12. Clemson closed out the game on a kill by Lia Proctor.

The Tigers had only four rallies of three points or more in the second game, but they held the Seminoles without a run of more than two points en route to the 30-21 victory. Jeannette Abbott recorded six kills and went errorless while Hepburn and Steiner added four kills apiece. Leading by just three points at 14-11, Clemson went on its second three-point run for a six-point advantage. Florida State scored the next two points to narrow the gap to four, but the Tigers responded with kills by Abbott and Steiner and used a Seminole error to go ahead, 20-13. Florida State came with five of Clemson at 24-19 on kills by Wessel, but the Tigers posted six of the final eight points scored to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third game, Clemson went on an early five-point run to take an 8-4 lead. However, Florida State rallied to tie the game at nine apiece before Hoover called a timeout. The Tigers responded by scoring the next five points and eight of the next nine for a 17-10 advantage. They then went on to win the game, 30-21, for their 15th win of the season.

The Tigers will return to action on Sunday afternoon, as they will face the Hurricanes of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. The match is slated for a 1:00 pm start time.