Tiger Volleyball Wins 10th Straight With 3-1 Victory Over Wake Forest

Oct. 12, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Jeannette Abbott posted a season-best 23 kills on Friday night, leading the Clemson volleyball team to a 3-1 (33-31, 26-30, 30-22, 30-24) victory over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC. The win was the Tigers’ 10th consecutive win and seventh against ACC opponents, improving them to 14-2 overall and 7-0 in conference.

Abbott also tallied a season-high 14 kills for a double-double performance, while Danielle Hepburn added 12 kills with eight total blocks for Clemson. Leslie Mansfield also recorded double figures in both kills and digs with 10 and 16, respectively.

Senior Meghan Steiner set a career high with 11 total blocks, recording a personal best 10 block assists and one solo block.

Natalie Mullikin led the Demon Deacons (7-11, 4-5 ACC) with 21 kills while Jessica Furlong tallied 17 in the effort.

The Tigers erased an early deficit in the opening game to edge the Demon Deacons, 33-31. Wake Forest scored the first four points of the frame and then led by a 7-2 margin. Clemson finally caught the Deacs at 17-17 after an Abbott kill and took its first lead on a block by Hepburn. After the teams were knotted at 19 apiece, the Tigers posted six unanswered points. A three-point rally by Wake Forest tied the game at 26-26 and the score was tied five more times in the stanza.

The Deacs had a game point at 30-29 before Abbott recorded another kill. Wake Forest posted the next point for another game-point situation but Clemson recorded the final three points for the win. A Mansfield kill gave the serve back to the Tigers, while a kill by Lia Proctor put them up, 32-31, and a Deac error gave Clemson the win..

The second game then seemed like a continuation of the first with the teams tied on eight occasions and the lead changing hands three times. The Tigers and Deacs were knotted for the final time at 20-20 before Wake Forest ended the frame on a 10-6 run for the 30-26 victory.

Clemson rebounded in game three, scoring the first six points of the frame taking an early 11-2 advantage. The Deacs narrowed the margin to four points at 18-14 and again at 26-22. Steiner then teamed with Murphy for a block to score the Tigers’ 27th point for the first of three straight block assists by the senior middle. Clemson closed out the game, 30-26, on a Wake Forest error.

The fourth game was tight early, but the Tigers rallied for six straight points to take a 13-6 advantage. They extended the lead to nine points at 28-19 after back-to-back kills by Abbott. The Deacs scored their 20th point before Mansfield recorded her 10th kill to put Clemson on top, 29-20. Wake Forest then rallied for four points to avoid match point, finally falling 30-24.

The Tigers will battle 13th-ranked Duke for first place in the ACC on Saturday night. Both teams will enter the match with an undefeated conference record.