Clemson Volleyball Turns Away Virginia Tech in Five Sets

Oct. 1, 2010

BLACKSBURG, VA – After a slow day of blocking for much of the night, Clemson used four in the fifth set to turn away Virginia Tech, 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11), in an ACC volleyball match at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA. The Tigers (11-4, 2-2 ACC) avenged a five-set loss to the Hokies (10-4, 1-3 ACC) a season ago in evening up their season ACC record.

The Tigers gutted out the five-set victory, their third in four tries, in front of a season-high 1211 fans in Cassell Coliseum. Clemson will now travel to Charlottesville, VA for a Sunday 1:00 pm match at the University of Virginia.

Four Tigers had five or more total blocks on the night for Clemson, who entered the match ranked fourth nationally at 3.08 blocks per set. Three Tigers recorded double-doubles on the night, a season high, and two Tigers recorded career highs in digs.

Sophomore Lacy Hayes’ career-best 13 digs and career-high-tying 42 assists gave Hayes her first career-double double.

Clemson out-blocked the Hokies, 12-3 and tied a season best with eight aces, led by Mo Simmons’s three. Simmons filled up the stat sheet, registering seven kills, eight digs, six blocks, and four assists.

Clemson took a 1-0 lead in the match behind All-ACC player, Sandra Adeleye, who had seven kills and a block assist in the opening set, a 25-20 Tiger victory. Clemson turned a 2-1 deficit into a seven point lead with a 9-1 run to go up, 10-3, and held on. Tech closed the set to three at 17-14, but a 5-1 Tiger run gave Clemson a 22-17 advantage, and they put the set away when Justine Record’s serve sailed into the net.

Virginia Tech tied it up in the second set, 25-18. The score was tight for much of the set, but the Hokies went on a 6-1 to close the set, 25-18 on a service ace from Record. Yaz had five kills in the set, but Samantha Gostling, who did not play in the first set for Virginia Tech, had a team-high seven kills in the set.

The Tigers raced out to an 11-5 lead in the third set, as Clemson went back to Adeleye, who had three kills and a block in the first ten points. Simmons also added a kill, a block, and her career-best third ace of the match. The Tigers stretched the lead to 14-6, before Virginia Tech responded with a six-point run to close the gap to 14-12, but a miscommunication by the Hokies’ back line and two straight aces from Yaz gave Clemson a 17-12 lead. The teams traded points after the Tigers took a 20-16 lead, and Clemson closed the set, 25-20 on a block from Rand and Simmons.

Virginia Tech wasted no time in the fourth set, running out to an 8-4 advantage behind Gostling and Baarendse. Facing a 9-6 deficit, the Tigers scored six of the next eight to take their first lead at 12-11. The teams traded blows, with Clemson forcing a timeout at 18-16. A timely Tech timeout sent the Hokies on a 7-1 run, giving them a 23-19 lead. A pair of Yaz kills brought the Tigers closer, but Record closed out the set with a kill, sending the match to a fifth set.

Clemson opened up the deciding set with a 4-1 lead behind a kill and a block from Rand, but Virginia Tech responded with a four-point run to take a 5-4 lead. Clemson went back to Rand, who hammered the tying kill to make it 5-5. Simmons fueled a run with two kills and a solo block to give the Tigers a 10-9 lead. The teams traded points, but with the match tied at 11-11, Clemson took over, scoring the next four points, and winning on an attack error by Record.