Clemson Volleyball Sweeps George Mason And Jacksonville In Final Day Of Big Orange Bash

Sept. 7, 2002

Jacksonville Box Score | George Mason Box Score

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team swept both of their matches on the final day of the 2002 Big Orange Bash to win the tournament. On Saturday, the Tigers defeated Jacksonville and George Mason to post a 3-0 record for the tournament, improving their record in the Big Orange Bash to 32-6 all-time. George Mason posted a 2-1 record on the weekend, while East Carolina was 1-2 and Jacksonville was 0-3. With the two wins today, Clemson extends its winning streak to four, all of which were played in the friendly confines of Jervey Gym. The Tigers’ record stands at 4-3 on the season.

The Big Orange Bash All-Tournament team consisted of three Clemson players, two George Mason players and one player each from East Carolina and Jacksonville. Clemson’s Ryane Beasley was named the tournament Most Valuable Performer, while teammates Lori Ashton and Jessi Betcher earned all-tournament honors. George Mason’s Aline Pereira and Shelbylynn McBride, along with Jacksonville’s Brooke Ahrens and East Carolina’s Sarah Vick round out the all-tournament team.

In the first match of the day, Clemson defeated Jacksonville 3-0 (30-21, 30-19, 30-23). The Tigers led by as many as 11 points (21-10) in game one, but Jacksonville closed the margin to eight (29-21) before a kill by Ryane Beasley closed the game out for Clemson. Beasley and Lori Ashton led the Tigers with four kills each, and Ashton posted three block assists. Betcher recorded three kills with 13 assists and four digs. As a team, Clemson hit .326 in the first game, while holding Jacksonville to a .122 hitting percentage.

In game two, the Tigers jumped out to a five-point lead (7-2), then the Dolphins knotted the score at 10 and 11 points each. A Jacksonville hitting error started an 11-point run for Clemson to give the Tigers an advantage they would not relinquish. Clemson hit .294 as a team, while Jacksonville hit .231 for the game. Beasley recorded seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while Betcher and Zoric served up two aces each.

The Tigers collectively hit .630 in game three, while Jacksonville hit .088. The Dolphins took an early 5-3 lead, and the game remained close until Clemson rallied to take a six-point lead at 16-10. Jacksonville closed the spread to three points (18-15), but the Tigers quickly built the edge back to six (22-16). Ashton posted seven kills and a .636 hitting percentage, and Betcher had 16 assists for the game. Overall, Clemson hit .349 as a team, holding Jacksonville to a .099 hitting percentage. The Tigers tallied seven team blocks to the Dolphins three team blocks, and each team had three service aces.

In the second match of the morning session, George Mason defeated East Carolina 3-1 (26-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-26). GMU’s Jessica Umansky posted a triple-double with 57 assists, 10 aces and 14 digs to lead the Patriots. Aline Pereira led all hitters with 25 kills, while Milena Racic tallied 18 kills with a .517 hitting percentage. Amy Falk recorded double-digit kills with 11, and Shelbylynn McBride had 11 digs. Three East Carolina players were also in double-digits in kills. Sarah Vick had 18 kills with 10 digs and five service aces, while Pam Ferris added 14 kills with eight digs. Robyn Drewes recorded 13 kills, and Alexis Jones tallied a match-high six blocks. East Carolina hit .299 with 10 team blocks for the match, while George Mason had a .287 hitting percentage with five team blocks. The Pirates had 11 aces on the match, while the Patriots tallied 15 service aces.

East Carolina defeated Jacksonville 3-1 (28-30, 30-28, 30-23, 30-26) in the third match of the day. The Pirates had four players in double-digit kills, led by Robyn Drewes who tallied 19 kills with a .607 hitting percentage and 10 blocks (two solo). Sarah Vick added 12 kills with 16 digs, and Katie Jannusch and Pam Ferris had 10 kills each. Jessica Vick handed out 26 assists, and Erica Wilson also added 23 assists. Johanna Bertini was in double-figures in digs with 11. For Jacksonville, Radka Dimitrova led the Dolphins with 22 kills and 15 digs. Brooke Ahrens added 16 kills with a .353 hitting percentage, and Alesha Rodriguez had 12 kills. Melissa Bullion tallied 56 assists, Kristy Smith had 13 digs with five blocks and Erin Donivan recorded 11 digs. East Carolina hit .237 as a team, while Jacksonville posted a .154 hitting percentage. The Pirates dominated at the net, putting up 16 team blocks, while the Dolphins had six team blocks.

In the finale of the Big Orange Bash, Clemson downed George Mason 3-0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-26). The Tigers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in game one, but George Mason slowly chipped away at the lead to knot the score at 14 each. The game remained close but four kills in the final six points of the game gave Clemson the winning edge. Leslie Finn, Lori Ashton posted five kills each for the Tigers, and Jessi Betcher handed out 18 assists. The Patriots’ Aline Periera had five kills for George Mason, and each team had two service aces with two team blocks.

Game two was tight until Clemson took the lead for good at 17-16 off a George Mason service error. Ryane Beasley and Ashton paced the Tigers with five kills each, and Ashton hit .625 for the game. Betcher added 15 more assists, and the Tigers posted two team blocks to George Mason’s none. Pereira again led the Patriots, recording six kills with five digs.

The third game was close throughout, but Clemson again gained the winning edge with three kills and a block in the final seven plays of the match. Marija Zoric led the Tigers in the final game, posting six kills with a .625 hitting percentage. Finn and Ashton added four kills each, and Betcher handed out 15 assists. Beasley and Zoric had two blocks each. Pereira tallied 11 kills with a .500 hitting percentage, and Amy Falk served up two aces. Clemson hit .441 in the final game, and held George Mason to a .297 hitting percentage. For the match, the Tigers had a season-high .448 hitting percentage, with six team blocks and four service aces. George Mason had a .283 hitting percentage with six aces and four team blocks.

Regarding her team’s performance, Clemson head coach Jolene Jordan Hoover said, “I am really proud of the team and how we fought. This was an important week for us with the win over Georgia and the three wins this weekend.”