Indiana Defeats Clemson 3-1 In NCAA Volleyball Tournament First Round

Dec. 2, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C.-Indiana, making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, upset 16th ranked Clemson in first round action on Thursday night. The Hoosiers advance to the second round and will face Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Littlejohn Coliseum.

Indiana won by scores 15-9, 11-15, 15-5, 15-12.

The win was Indiana’s (20-10) second consecutive win over a top-20 team. The Hoosiers defeated 20th ranked Minnesota to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Clemson, the ACC regular season champions, concluded the year with a record of 31-3.

Junior outside hitter Amanda Welter paced Indiana with 25 kills and a hitting percentage of .525. Welter went the first three games of the match without recording an attack error.

Sophomore setter Laurie Gardner had 61 assists for Indiana. Junior outside hitter Jill Mudge had 13 kills and a hitting percentage of .355. Seniors Kristina Sanderson and Erin Heimann both came up with 18 digs.

Senior outside hitter Alison Coday led Clemson with a match-high 28 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. She also added 17 digs.

Welter led the Hoosiers to a 15-9 win in game one with seven kills and no errors in 10 attempts. Heimann contributed 10 digs for Indiana. Clemson entered the match with a .279 hitting percentage on the season, but only managed a .083 hitting percentage in the match’s first game.

Clemson, making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, rallied in game two with a 6-1 run to take a commanding 11-6 lead. Four of the six scoring kills for the Tigers during the run came from Coday. However, the Tigers had to survive a furious comeback by the Hoosiers that tied the score at 11 before Clemson won the game 15-11.

Indiana dominated game three as the Hoosiers posted an attack percentage of .314, while the Tigers recorded a .073. Indiana jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back in winning the game 15-5. Welter again led the Hoosiers, this time making good on four kills in five attempts with no errors.

Game four was a battle that went back and forth until Clemson pulled ahead 12-9. Indiana scored six unanswered points to claim the game and the match with a 15-12 win.