Tigers Cruise to Big Orange Bash Title

Aug. 27, 2011

Box Score | IPTAY Media: Performance Meets Promise Early in 2011

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team took a pair of matches on Saturday, winning 3-0 against both Tennessee State (25-15, 25-19, 25-10) and South Carolina State (25-10, 25-13, 25-19) to win the 2011 Big Orange Bash for the second straight year without dropping a set. Clemson (3-0) looked solid in each of the three matches as they prepare for a trip to No. 9 Florida and their tournament in Gainesville this week.

“I felt like we competed every ball, whether we were up or down,” said Jolene Jordan Hoover, who won her 24th tournament title at Clemson. “I felt like we didn’t lull ourselves to sleep, even when we were ahead. We just kept pressing and kept fighting for every point.”

Sandra Adeleye earned Tournament MVP honors for the second straight year, and truly played at a new level this weekend. For the three matches, the two-time All-ACC selection has 36 kills against only three errors, hitting .688 for the three matches. She posted double-figure kills in all three matches, with 15 against Loyola, 10 against Tennessee State, and 11 against South Carolina State.

“It feels like we’re going in the right direction,” said Adeleye, who was a tournament MVP for the third time in her career. “That feels really nice. The team really worked well together this weekend, and it was a lot of fun being out there.

Also earning All-Tournament honors for the Tigers were Alexa Rand and Mo Simmons. Rand averaged 2.33 kills per set and hit .667, while also picking up 16 total blocks in the three matches. Simmons hit .385 with 20 kills, and also had nine blocks.

Clemson jumped out South Carolina State to the tune of .468 hitting, while also holding the Bulldogs to -.029 offensively. The Tigers picked up 10.5 blocks, and have their season average a 2.94 so far, ahead of last season’s pace which put them 11th in the nation.

For the third straight match, Adeleye was on fire, this time nailing 11 kills in 15 attacks with only one error for a .667 mark. She also had four total blocks. Rand was also solid in this match nailing kills on seven of her eight swings and going in on four blocks.

The Tigers were also able to serve effectively, constantly taking the Bulldogs out of their offense. Clemson put in 11 aces, including seven from freshman Kamryn Sherman, the second-best mark for a Clemson freshman in school history and the most since Kelsey Murphy had seven against Maryland in 2007. The seven aces are tied for the 6th-most in team history.

Sherman added 14 assists as well, as she and Brenner led the Tigers to .656 hitting through the first two sets and a .406 mark for the tournament. Another freshman, Kristin Faust, had a solid match, as she had seven kills against just one error in 15 attacks, and also added two aces and two blocks.

“Our two setters did an amazing job this weekend,” said Hoover. “They were very good at finding hot hitters and moving ball around and distributing it well.”

Clemson is sure to get a test this week as they head to No. 9 Florida’s Campus USA Credit Union Classic in Gainesville, where they’ll take on Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville on Friday and the Gators on Saturday. The Tigers will then head down to Orlando to take on No. 2 Southern Cal in a neutral site match at the Orlando Volleyball Academy.

All-Tournament Team: