Tiger Volleyball Downs Florida State, 3-0, On Saturday

Oct. 4, 2008

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson senior Danielle Hepburn tallied 12 kills without committing an error and Jeannette Abbott recorded a team-high 16 kills as the Tiger volleyball team downed Florida State, 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-14), on Saturday. Clemson needed just 64 minutes to defeat the Seminoles and post the 11th win of its season. The Tigers are now 11-5 on the year with a 3-2 record in the ACC.

“We all played well today,” Hepburn said. “We took advantage of some of their weaknesses and came away with a good win.”

Overall, Clemson recorded 43 kills compared to 24 by Florida State as setter Kelsey Murphy guided the team to a .384 hitting percentage. The Tiger defense was on point Saturday as well, holding the Seminoles to a meager .023 hitting figure with six team blocks and 35 defensive saves.

Stephanie Neville led Florida State (9-6, 1-4 ACC) with seven kills while Ashlee Moon tallied 11 digs in the effort.

Murphy led the Tigers to a .440 hitting clip in the first set as Clemson downed the Seminoles, 25-12. The Tigers benefited from several Florida State hitting errors as well. Clemson used a five-point run early in the set to gain the advantage. The Tigers gave up two points before rattling off seven straight for a 10-point lead at 19-9. Abbott had a pair of kills in the closing moments and a block by Brittany Fennell sealed the win.

Hepburn then posted six kills in seven attempts during the second set, helping Clemson to a 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Tigers started strong again with kills by Hepburn, Proctor and Abbott in the first five points of the set. They then utilized another run to distance themselves from Florida State at 17-10. The margin stayed close to that seven-point gap for remainder of the set as a Hepburn kill gave Clemson the eight-point set win.

With four kills and block to start the third set, the Seminoles seemed to be in control. However, the Tigers rebounded with six straight points to erase the two-point Florida State lead and the Seminoles never responded. Abbott led the Clemson offense with seven kills in the set, including some powerful put-downs that appeared to crush any Florida State efforts. Three straight errors by the Seminoles put the Tigers on top by 10 at 21-11 and back-to-back Abbott kills put Clemson ahead, 23-12. Fennell recorded her second solo block of the evening for the Tigers, 24th point and scored their final one of the night on a kill.

Clemson will remain at home next weekend for a pair of conference matches. The Tigers will take on Wake Forest on Friday night before facing Duke on Saturday.