Tigers Head to Virginia, No. 2 Pitt

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Volleyball team (10-13, 4-8 ACC) heads to Virginia (10-15, 2-10 ACC) and No. 2 Pitt (23-1, 12-0 ACC) this weekend. Clemson has won its last two matchups against the Cavaliers, including last year’s contest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Additionally, Pitt’s current No. 2 national ranking ties for the best ranking of a Clemson opponent in program history. The last time the Tigers squared off against the No. 2 team in the nation was against Penn State in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.

Match Setup

Match 1
Who: Clemson at Virginia (10-15, 2-10 ACC)
When: Friday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Charlottesville, Va. | Memorial Gymnasium
Series Info: 41-22 all-time, 15-15 in Charlottesville, Va.
Watch: ACCNX
Live Stats: SIDEARM

Match 2
Who: Clemson at #2 Pitt (23-1, 12-0 ACC)
When: Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m.
Where: Pittsburgh, Pa. | Fitzgerald Field House
Series Info: 1-7 all-time, 0-3 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Watch: ACCNX
Live Stats: SIDEARM

Notes

• Clemson has won its previous two matchups against the Cavaliers, including last year’s sweep (25-15, 25-19, 25-22) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Solei Thomas (14 kills) and Brooke Bailey (11 kills) combined for 25 kills. Clemson also looks to take control of the series in Charlottesville as it is currently knotted at 15-15.
• The Tigers are 1-7 all-time against the Panthers and winless in Pittsburgh (0-3). The first and only time Clemson has defeated Pitt was the first-ever matchup, which was in Auburn, Alabama in 1997.
• Pitt’s No. 2 ranking ties for the best ranking of a Clemson opponent in CU history. The last time the Tigers squared off against the No. 2 team in the nation was against Penn State in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
• Redshirt-junior outside hitter Kaylin Korte currently ranks third in the league in kills per set. Korte is averaging 3.72 kills per set for the season and 3.98 kills per set in ACC matchups.
• Korte and freshman setter Mckenna Slavik swept ACC weekly honors for the Tigers on Oct. 21. Both helped Clemson secure a pair of wins over Duke (Oct. 18) and Wake Forest (Oct. 20). Korte, Clemson’s first ACC Player of the Week recipient since 2013, posted a career-high 30 kills against the Blue Devils and averaged, 5.38 kills per set for the weekend. Slavik averaged 10.36 assists per set on the weekend. The Saint Charles, Illinois native poured in a career-best 50 assists and 11 digs against the Blue Devils to register her fifth double-double of the season
• Korte and Syracuse’s Polina Shemanova are the only two ACC players this season to tally at least 30 kills in a single match.
• Korte raised her level of play against back-to-back top-10 opponents in then-No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 7 Minnesota. Against those pair of Big Ten foes, Korte averaged 4.33 kills per set and 3.83 digs per set.
• Slavik currently ranks fifth in the ACC in assists per set (9.88), which is also good for 12^th in the nation among all freshman and fifth in country among those in a Power-5 conference.
• So far, the Tigers have faced seven 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, nine 2018 AVCA top-50 teams and 12 2018 AVCA top-100 teams. For the entire 2019 regular season, Clemson is slated to challenge eight 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, 10 2018 AVCA top-50 teams and 13 2018 AVCA top-100 teams.
• This season, the Tigers returned three 2018 All-ACC selections in Brooke Bailey (Second Team), Solei Thomas (All-Freshman) and Gabby Easton (All-Freshman), which marked the first time since 2011 Clemson collected three ACC postseason selections.
• In 2018, Clemson secured two postseason victories, a first in program history, with wins over Alabama A&M and Radford in the NIVC.

For complete coverage of the Clemson Volleyball team, follow @ClemsonVB on Twitter and Instagram, and @ClemsonVolleyball on Facebook.