Clemson Volleyball Team Defeats Wake Forest 3-1 On Friday In ACC Tournament

Nov. 21, 2003

ORLANDO, FL – The Clemson volleyball team defeated Wake Forest 3-1 (33-35, 30-22, 30-22, 32-30) on Friday night at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in the first round of the ACC Tournament. With the win the Tigers improve to 18-15 on the season, while the Demon Deacons fall to 21-9 overall.

The Demon Deacons won the first game by a score of 35-33. Liz Beckham and Ryane Beasley tallied seven kills each, while Stephanie Haskell recorded nine digs with 18 assists. Beasley, Lori Ashton and Marija Zoric posted two blocks apiece in game one. Valerie Rydberg paced the Demon Deacons with 11 kills and six digs and Christy Williams was the team’s top blocker with three blocks (one solo) in game one. Erin Borhart recorded 21 assists with two blocks for the Demon Deacons.

In game two, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead and held on to it to win 30-22. Clemson hit .419 in game two and held the Demon Deacons to a .167 hitting percentage behind Ashton’s six kills and Beasley’s five kills. Leslie Finn led the team in digs with seven and Haskell recorded 18 assists with three digs in game two. Wake Forest was led by Williams and Kim Stern with four kills each. Rydberg posted seven digs and Borhart recorded 11 assists with two aces for the Demon Deacons.

Clemson won game three 30-22, as the Tigers hit .277 compared to Wake Forest’s .114 hitting percentage. Beasley paced Clemson with five kills and two blocks, while Finn and Ashton had four kills apiece. Laura Jensen tallied six digs and Haskell recorded 15 assists with two digs and one block. Wake Forest was led by Williams with four kills, while Jessica Hauff added three kills with two blocks. Sara Beth DeLisle had six digs and Borhart tallied 12 assists for the Demon Deacons in game three.

The Tigers captured the match with a close 32-30 win in game four. Ashton led the team with five kills, while Beckham tallied four kills. Jensen posted eight digs in game four and Haskell tallied 12 assists. Rydberg led Wake Forest with eight kills, while DeLisle recorded nine digs. Borhart handed out 19 assists in game four for the Demon Deacons.

Individually, Clemson was led by Ryane Beasley with 20 kills, a .333 hitting percentage and four blocks (one solo). Ashton added 19 kills with a .436 hitting percentage and a team-best seven blocks (two solo), while Beckham recorded 16 kills with 13 digs and one service ace. Abbott led the Tigers with 23 digs and Stephanie Haskell handed out 63 assists with 16 digs and three blocks.

Rydberg paced Wake Forest with 23 kills and 22 digs, while Williams tallied 17 kills with seven blocks (two solo). DeLisle led the team in digs with 23 and Borhart dished out 63 assists with 11 digs and four blocks.

The Tigers will return to action Saturday at 4:00 p.m. as Clemson will take on the number-two seed Maryland in the semifinals of the 2003 ACC Tournament in Orlando, FL. The Tigers and Terrapins last met in the tournament in 2000.