Finn Leads Clemson Volleyball to 3-0 Upset over Miami

Oct. 29, 2004

Clemson senior captain Leslie Finn led the Tiger volleyball team to a dominating 3-0 win (30-28, 30-17, 30-25) over Miami on Friday at Jervey Gym. Her play helped the Tigers improve to 16-9 overall and 6-5 in the ACC. With the loss, the Hurricanes dropped to 12-7 overall, 7-4 in the ACC.

“Leslie was awesome tonight,” said Jolene Jordan Hoover, head coach of the Tigers. “Our whole team played really well. This was a big win for us. We only get to play Miami once during the regular season. Miami is a good offensive team, so I am proud of how we played tonight.”

The Tigers hit .286 in the match and limited Miami’s offense to a .144 hitting percentage. Leading the way was Finn, who had 24 kills and hit a match-high .477 Friday. The senior from San Diego, CA also had 17 digs, just missing on a 20-20 performance. With the 24 kills, she passed Alison Coday for fourth on the all-time Clemson kills list, and now trails Julie Rodriguez by just 21 for third. Anna Vallinch led the Tiger defense with 20 digs, and she also contributed with a career-high five aces.

Clemson also had 10.0 team blocks in the match, including four total by a pair of individuals in Kassie Staup and Brittany Ross. In addition to four block assists, Staup had a .333 hitting percentage.

In game one, Finn had 10 kills to lead Clemson to a two-point win. The Tigers trailed by one, but came back to score four of the last five in the game. Clemson never relinquished the lead in the second game, getting off to a 16-6 start. The Tigers cruised from there, winning 30-17. In the final game, Clemson scored four straight to stretch its lead to 25-20 late in the action.

The Tigers host their second consecutive home ACC match on Saturday. Clemson welcomes Florida State to Jervey Gym, and the two teams are scheduled to begin play at 6:00 PM.