Tigers Defeat Rival South Carolina, 3-0, In Front Of Record Crowd Tuesday Night

Sept. 13, 2005

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team overpowered in-state rival South Carolina, 3-0 (30-25, 30-20, 30-28), in front of a record crowd of 2,135 on Tuesday night in Jervey Gymnasium. With the win the Tigers improve to 3-2 for the season, while the Gamecocks drop to 6-2.

“I am very proud of how focused the team was and how they executing the game plan,” Head Coach Jolene Jordan-Hoover said. “The team did an excellent job playing together. To get a win over a good, physical team is really good for us right now.”

Rookies Laura Boozer and Jeannette Abbott each tallied 12 kills for Clemson, and Brittany Ross added 11 in the victory. Boozer’s kill total set a new career high for the red-shirt freshman, as did her .667 hitting percentage for the match. Overall, the Tigers recorded 50 kills and posted 10 total team blocks. Shonda Cole had 16 kills for South Carolina to lead all hitters.

The Tigers started out strong, taking a 10-4 lead in the first game, but the Gamecocks cut the lead to 13-12. Clemson scored the next four points to widen the gap and never looked back, winning the game by a score of 30-25.

In the second game, the Tigers posted six team blocks, helping them record a 30-20 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match. South Carolina came out fighting in the third game that the score tied on eight different occasions. Clemson led early in the match but the Gamecocks went ahead at 19-18. They held a 24-19 advantage before the Tigers rallied to tie the score at 28 apiece. Junior Dawn Robertson served points 28, 29 and 30 in her only action of the match to give Clemson the win.

Clemson will hit the road for the Mizuno/Auburn Challenge in Auburn, AL. The Tigers will face Alabama A&M on Friday, Sept. 16 and Furman and Auburn on Saturday.