Tiger Volleyball Falls To Virginia, 3-1, On Friday Night

Oct. 20, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Clemson volleyball team suffered its first defeat in nine matches on Friday night, falling to Virginia, 3-1 (26-30, 30-22, 30-26, 34-32), in Charlottesville, VA. With the win the Cavaliers improved to 14-6 overall with a 7-4 record in ACC play. The loss dropped the Tigers to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in conference action.

Jeannette Abbott led Clemson with 24 kills in the contest, while Meghan Steiner added 10. Danielle Hepburn recorded seven total blocks to lead the Tigers at the net, while Didem Ege posted a team-best 19 defensive saves.

The Cavaliers’ Sarah Kirkwood tallied 22 kills for a .314 hitting percentage, while Katie Oaks, the ACC’s leading blocker, tabbed six in the contest.

The Tigers recorded the first rally of the match, scoring four straight points to go ahead 15-12 in game one. Clemson then rattled off a seven-point run to take a commanding 23-13 lead. Virginia then posted eight of the next nine points to narrow the gap to 24-22. The Cavaliers came within one point of the Tigers at 25-24 and again at 26-25. However, Clemson scored the next two points and closed out the game, 30-26, on a kill by Abbott and a Virginia error.

The Cavaliers took the second game in the match, the first game the Tigers had dropped since their Sept. 29 contest against Miami, to tie the score at 1-1. After leading 16-13 in the game, Virginia put together two four-point plus rallies to go ahead 25-14. Clemson fought back and avoided two game points to cut the deficit to seven. The Cavaliers went on to claim the game, 30-22.

Virginia then posted a 30-26 win in the third game to go up, 2-1, in the match. The Cavaliers held Clemson to just two runs of over two points and led by as many as six points in the game at 21-15. The Tigers came within two twice at 24-22 and 25-23, but Virginia held on for the win.

Runs from both teams dominated the fourth game with the Cavaliers holding out in the end, winning 34-32. Clemson had a six-point rally to take an early 10-8 lead before Virginia scored four straight points of its own to go up, 12-10. The Tigers then scored five of six points in a stretch later in the game to regain the lead at 19-16. However, the Cavaliers’ turn was next as they went ahead 23-20 after a five-point run. Then the game became a back-and-forth affair, seeing six tie scores (26-26, 27-27, 29-29, 30-30 and 32-32), and Virginia tallied the final two points for the victory.

Clemson will remain in the State of Virginia for a Sunday match-up against the Hokies of Virginia Tech. The contest is slated for a 1:00 pm start time at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.