Tiger Volleyball Wins 14th Straight With 3-0 Defeat Of Maryland On Saturday

Oct. 20, 2007

CLEMSON, SC – The Tiger volleyball team posted its highest hitting percentage of the season against the ACC’s top defensive team in Maryland, and Clemson defeated the Terps, 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-25), at Jervey Gym on Saturday night. Four Tigers tallied double figures in kills as Clemson hit a .386 figure with 61 total kills in the three-game match and extended its winning streak to 14 straight.

With the victory, the Tigers wrapped up the first half of the ACC season with a perfect 11-0 record and now boast an 18-2 overall ledger.

“We are very excited about where we sit in the conference right now,” Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover said, “but we realize we are just halfway through the ACC season. The most incredible thing is that we played the majority of the first half on the road.”

Jeannette Abbott led all hitters with 13 kills for Clemson and hit a .345 percentage, while Danielle Hepburn and Lia Proctor each tallied 12 in the contest. Leslie Mansfield posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, and Meghan Steiner hit a team-best .533 percentage with eight kills against no errors and also led the squad with five block assists.

Setter Kelsey Murphy recorded 45 assists with 12 defensive saves in directing the Tiger offense to its best hitting effort of the season. Clemson avoided the dangerous Terrapin blockers. Maryland had entered the weekend’s action with a 3.54 blocks per game average that ranked fourth in the nation, but the Terps recorded just six total team blocks on Saturday night.

“The key tonight was our passing,” Hoover added. “We were in system nearly the whole night which allowed us to move the ball around and have a balanced attack.”

Jade Brown and Beth Gillming each had 11 kills for Maryland (13-8, 5-7 ACC) while Gillming also had 11 digs for a double-double performance.

A seven-point run on Leslie Mansfield serve gave the Tigers an early 14-6 lead in the first game and the Terps played catch-up for the rest of the frame. Lia Proctor posted two kills in the stretch while Hepburn recorded a solo block. Maryland closed the gap to four points at 22-18 after a 7-2 rally. Hoover then called a timeout to regroup her squad and Clemson scored eight of the final 11 points for the 30-21 win.

The Tigers took advantage of another early run in the second game to go up 15-9. A kill by Steiner followed by a solo block by the senior middle put Clemson ahead, 24-16, and the lead stretched to 10 points at 27-17 and again at 29-19. Mansfield then tipped in a kill for her team’s 30th point.

Game three remained tight until back-to-back three point rallies by the Tigers gave them an 18-13 advantage. The Terps responded with three straight points to cut the deficit to one. Clemson extended the lead to 29-23, but Maryland avoided two game points before a Mansfield kill closed out the game (30-25) and match.

The second half of the ACC schedule will begin next weekend as the Tigers welcome North Carolina and NC State to Jervey Gym. Clemson is scheduled to battle the Tar Heels at 7:00 pm on Friday night before playing host to the Wolfpack at 6:00 pm on Saturday.