CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson volleyball fell in a five-set match to the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday night. Despite battling back from down 2-0 to force a fifth set, the Bulldogs were able to come away with the match in a close fifth set.
Maddie Anspaugh led the attackers with 17 kills throughout the match. She was largely helped by setter Katherine Sandt who tallied 53 assists, the second most in a single match of her career.
How It Happened:
The two teams traded points most of the way through the first set, with no team extending out to a lead greater than two points until Butler took the took a 22-18 lead in the late stages of the set. They carried that to a 25-22 set win, despite both sides struggling to find offensive success.
The Tigers’ attack improved in the second set with the team swinging at a .226 attack line, but the Bulldogs out blocking the Tigers 4-1 was the difference in the set. Maddie Anspaugh tallied five sets in the second set to lead the team. Butler was able to win set two 25-22 to go up 2-0.
Clemson fought throughout the entirety of the third set to keep themselves alive in the match. Anspaugh got to double-digit kills for the second-straight game, the first two of her collegiate career. Her efforts helped Clemson to a 22-25 win in the third set. Alongside her was Anika Groom with four kills of her own.
The two teams traded points throughout the early stages of the fourth set, though Clemson was able to pull away with a 14-9 lead to force a Butler timeout. This came after back-to-back kills from Alyssa Irwin who had four in the set. In the end, the Tigers were able to come away with a hard-fought 30-28 win in the fourth set to force it to five.
The Tigers battled through the fifth set, led by Irwin and Anspaugh combined for seven kills in the fifth set to help the freshman to 17 kills and Irwin capped her night off with 10. Anspaugh has now matched the start of senior Kennedy Wagner’s career with 15 and 17 kills in her first two matches as a Tiger. In the end, the Tigers battled through the set but came up short to fall 15-11.
With the 3-2 loss the Tigers are now 1-1 on the season.
Tiger Leaders
- Points: Maddie Anspaugh – 18.5
- Kills: Maddie Anspaugh – 17
- Digs: Addi Rains - 14
- Assists: Katherine Sandt – 53
- Blocks: Lina Merz - 5
- Aces: Lucy Malone - 2
Up Next: Clemson will return to action tomorrow, August 30th, to face Western Carolina at 4 p.m. inside Jervey Gym. The match will be streamed on ACCNX as the Tigers’ third and final of the 2026 Big Orange Bash. For the most up to date game information, go to clemsontigers.com.