Clemson Volleyball Wins Five-Game Thriller Over Miami On Saturday

Nov. 5, 2005

CLEMSON, SC – The Tiger volleyball team played its second five-game match of the season against Miami, but Clemson came out on the winning end this time to end a seven-match losing streak. The Tigers won games one, three and five in thrilling fashion to improve to 10-13 overall with a 5-10 mark against ACC competition, while Miami fell to 12-11 overall and 7-9 in conference games. Clemson’s Jeannette Abbott and Brittany Ross both tied career highs with 26 kills apiece, while the team posted 17.5 total team blocks, which ranks in a tie for fourth in school history. Anna Vallinch tallied 24 defensive saves in the match for the Tigers as well.

“I’m proud of how we battled,” Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover said. “With all of the injuries we’ve had the past couple of weeks, it has been difficult, so this was a much needed win.”

Miami was led by Karla Johnson who also recorded 26 kills for the night. Setter Jill Robinson had 69 assists in the contest, while Lauren Rinderknecht tallied 23 digs.

Clemson edged the Hurricanes, 30-26, in a hard-fought first game that saw 14 tie scores and eight lead changes. The score remained close throughout the first half of the game before the Tigers were able to take a 17-13 advantage. They led 19-16 when Miami scored three points to tie the game at 19-19. The teams then traded points 21-24. Clemson took the lead for good at 25-24 and held on to go up 1-0 in the match.

The second game proved to be just as tough as the first, as the score was tied on 12 occasions and the team’s traded leads six times. Clemson and Miami were neck-in-neck for the entire affair, but the game saw its final tie at 25-25. The Hurricanes scored five of the last six points to claim the game, 30-26.

After holding narrow leads early in the third game, the Tigers fell behind the Hurricanes 19-14. Clemson trailed 25-20 and 28-25 before tying the score on Sue Eckman’s serve. Miami then scored its 29th point to take the lead before the Tigers tied the score again. Clemson went ahead, 30-29, but a kill from Johnson knotted the game one more time. The Tigers scored the final two points of the game to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth game was just as close as the first three, with the Hurricanes coming out on top by a score of 30-28 to force a fifth game.

Miami took an early 9-6 lead and had four match points in the fifth game, but Eckman served an ace to tie the score at 14-14. The Tigers had trailed 14-11 before the sophomore defensive specialist began serving. Miami went up 15-14 and then again 16-15 before Clemson posted the victory. A block by Courtney Lawrence and Danielle Hepburn scored the Tigers’ 17th point and a kill by Lawrence recorded the 18th and final point of the match.

Clemson will play their final weekend matches at Jervey Gym next weekend. They will face North Carolina at 7:00 PM on Friday, Nov. 11 and then play host to N.C. State on Saturday in a 4:30 PM match. The Tigers’ final home match will be against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 PM.