Tigers Fall at No. 23 Miami on Friday

Oct. 14, 2011

CORAL GABLES, FL – The 23rd-ranked Miami Hurricanes hit .373 in taking down the Tigers, 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-22), at the J.L. Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables, FL. The Tigers (13-6, 5-3 ACC) had a three-match win streak snapped, while the Hurricanes (15-2, 6-2 ACC) stayed a perfect 7-0 at home.

Clemson travels to No. 21 Florida State on Sunday for a 1:00 pm battle with the Seminoles, who enter the match in first place in the conference.

Sandra Adeleye led Clemson offensively with 12 kills and hit .385, while Serenat Yaz had her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs. The Tigers were only able to muster three blocks defensively, an area in which they generally excel, entering the match 15th nationally.

Clemson’s three blocks were the fewest for the team this season, and the .373 hitting percentage allowed was the highest of the year, surpassing the .305 that No. 9 Florida hit in September.

Offensively, the Tigers did put down 44 kills, but Miami’s 67 percent side-out success limited big Tiger runs. Clemson hit .218, as setters Kamryn Sherman and Hannah Brenner had 19 assists apiece. Sherman had her second career double-doulbe in the match, with the 19 assists and 10 digs, one shy of her career-best. Junior libero Natalie Patzin had 16 digs to lead all players as well.

Miami’s third-team All-American, Lane Carico, led the Canes with 11 kills and ten digs, while sophomore Alex Johnson had ten kills and 12 digs. Ali Becker also had ten kills and hit .444 out of the middle as a strong third option.

Miami cruised to a first set win, 25-13, after hitting a robust .419 against Clemson’s defense, which entered the match ranked second in the ACC in opponent hitting percentage allowed. Clemson struggled passing, setting up difficult attack opportunities. Adeleye was the lone bright spot, going for four kills and a .571 hitting mark.

The second set was much tighter, with 13 tie scores and six lead changes. Neither team scored more than three in a row, and the Clemson attack got going a little bit. The Tigers registered 17 kills in the set and hit .244, but Miami’s tough offense rendered Clemson’s blocking ineffective, tooling several attacks off of Tiger blockers.

Clemson led, 15-14 after a kill from Adeleye, but a 3-0 run gave the Canes a lead they would not relinquish. Clemson got to within one at 20-21 and 21-22, but the Hurricanes put the set away, 25-22.

The Tigers tried to back on track in the third set, as they moved out to an early, 8-5 lead after a pair of blocks. Miami responded to take a 10-9 lead, but the Tigers were again up to the challenge, taking a 15-12 lead to force a Miami timeout. The Tigers maintained the advantage until 20-17, as the Hurricanes scored seven of the next eight to set up match point. The Tigers fought off one point, but a kill from Alex Johnson closed the match with a 25-22 win.

Clemson plays two more on the road before returning home for a pair, and heading back ont he road for four more.