Tiger Volleyball Sweeps Florida A&M In Big Orange Bash Action Friday Night

Sept. 7, 2007

CLEMSON, SC – Jeannette Abbott posted 17 kills as the Clemson volleyball team recorded a 3-0 sweep (30-17, 30-22, 30-20) of Florida A&M at the Big Orange Bash on Friday night. The junior outside hitter extended her double-figure kill streak to 47 straight matches while also tallying three service aces against the Rattlers.

The victory improved the Tigers to 4-0 on the year, while Florida A&M fell to 0-1.

Saturday’s tournament action will begin at 11:00 am as the Tigers take on Furman and will continue at 1:00 pm with Purdue and Florida A&M. Clemson and Purdue will then battle at 7:00 pm in the final match of the day. All three matches will be played at Jervey Gym and are free to general public.

Danielle Hepburn added 14 kills for Clemson, while Meghan Steiner continued her assault on the opposition with a .538 hitting percentage on Friday night. Leslie Mansfield and Didem Ege each recorded 18 digs in the victory.

The Tigers hit an impressive .325 percentage on the night with setters Courtney Lawrence combining for 48 assists.

The Rattlers’ Jovana Blazeski led all hitters with 20 kills on the night, while Susan Egoavil tallied 20 defensive saves in the effort.

“I was really pleased that we were able to beat a pretty good Florida A&M team in three games,” said Clemson head coach Jolene Jordan Hoover. “We were coming off a two week layoff, so I was glad to see us perform well tonight. It should help us going into tomorrow’s matches because we play a good Furman team and a good Purdue team.”

The Tigers needed half of a game to find their rhythm but were in full force once they did. Florida A&M kept the frame close and trailed just 18-15. However, Clemson notched nine straight points on the service of Sue Eckman to take the commanding lead. The Rattlers managed just two more points before the Tigers closed out the game by the 30-17 margin.

Clemson then jumped out to an early 11-2 advantage in game two and extended the lead to as many as 14 points at 26-12. The Tigers withstood a late A&M rally that narrowed the gap to 26-19 and then clinched the win on a kill by Hepburn.

Game three was then a closer affair as the teams were knotted early at 6-6 and 8-8. A three-point Clemson run then gave the Tigers the lead that they held for the rest of the match. With the Rattlers within five at 22-17, Clemson posted five straight points to widen their margin to 10 and then claimed the game, 30-20, and the match.

In the first match of the tournament, Purdue defeated Furman by a score of 3-0. Danita Merlau led the Boilermakers with 13 kills on the night, while Kelli Miller and Stephanie Lynch each posted 12. Jaclyn Hart tallied 37 assists, and Anne Mastandrea recorded 17 digs.

Alison West was the only Paladin to reach double figures in kills, finishing the match with 11. Palela Gehrke led the defensive effort with 15 digs on the night.

The Boilermakers edged Furman, 30-28, in a tight first game that saw seven tie scores and three lead changes. The Paladins led, 24-22, before Purdue rallied for three straight points to take the 25-22 lead. The Boilermakers extended it to 28-26 before Lynch notched a kill for the victory and 1-0 lead in the match.

Purdue was then in control for the remainder of the contest, winning the second and third games, 30-19 and 30-9, respectively.