Tigers Play Home-Opener Tuesday

Sept. 6, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson (4-0) will open the home season on Tuesday against Winthrop. The Tigers hold a 16-12 series advantage. The two teams last met in 1992 when Clemson took a 3-0 win in Jervey Gym.

The Tigers will face Kentucky and Notre Dame this weekend in the Big Orange Bash. Kentucky leads the series with Clemson, 6-0. The Wildcats won last year’s meeting 3-1 in Louisville.

Clemson and Notre Dame have only met once. The Fighting Irish defeated the Tigers 3-0 in 1996 at the Mizuno Cup in Chicago, IL.

Clemson Wins Michigan State Volleyball Classic The Clemson volleyball team, ranked 27th nationally, opened the season last weekend at the Michigan State Volleyball Classic. On Friday, the Tigers defeated 16th-ranked Texas A&M 3-0 and Eastern Kentucky 3-0.

In Saturday’s action, the Tigers beat Cleveland State 3-0, then defeated #22 Michigan State 3-0 to conclude the tournament.

Clemson middle hitter senior Cindy Stern was chosen tournament MVP after hitting .576 with 57 kills, four errors and 92 attempts over the four matches. Stern added three service aces, 26 digs and 14 blocks for the Tigers.

Sophomore right side hitter Jodi Steffes and freshman setter Jessi Betcher were named to the all-tournament team. Steffes hit .338 with 29 kills, six errors and 68 attempts. In the four matches she had six assists, four aces, 33 digs and five blocks. Betcher led the Tigers with 138 assists in the tournament, averaging 15.33 assists per game. She tallied nine kills, five aces and 27 digs in the tournament.

Tigers Preseason ACC Favorites Clemson was selected by the league’s nine head coaches as the preseason favorite for the upcoming 1999 ACC volleyball season. The Tigers collected 77 votes out of a possible 81. The complete poll is as follows:

1 CLEMSON 2 Virginia 3 Georgia Tech 4 Florida State 5 N. Carolina 6 Wake Forest 7 Duke 8 Maryland 9 NC State

Clemson Ranked Among Nation’s Leaders The Clemson volleyball team is tied for 27th nationally according to the AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason Poll. The Tigers received 89 votes in the national poll, the highest total among all teams in the ACC.

North Carolina ranks 33rd with 30 votes, while Georgia Tech is 39th with 15 votes. Virginia placed 40th in the preseason poll, pulling in 12 votes, and Florida State is picked 44th in the preseason with seven votes.

In their first weekend of competition, the Tigers defeated 16th-ranked Texas A&M and 22nd-ranked Michigan State.

Other ranked teams on the Tigers’ schedule include 20th-ranked Arkansas, 29th-ranked Notre Dame, plus Illinois State and South Carolina, who are tied for 49th nationally.

Tigers Seeking Records Several Tigers are among Clemson’s career leaders in many categories. Senior Cindy Stern ranks second in block assists (369), third in kills (1270), fifth in block solos (129) and sixth in attempts (2959).

Senior Alison Coday ranks fourth in kills (1213) and fourth in attempts (3023), while junior Missy Kudelka is in fifth place on the Clemson all-time list with 1517 assists.

Hoover Holds Clemson Coaching Record Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover, now in her seventh season as the Tigers’ head coach, became Clemson’s all-time winningest volleyball coach last season after leading the team to a 22-11 record. She holds a 147-60 record at Clemson and is 240-91 for her career.

Hoover has a stellar 67-35 record in ACC matches for a .676 winning percentage, best among active league head coaches.

Tiger Rookies Have Impact in First Weekend Clemson’s two rookies were impressive in their first weekend of competition. Mallory Benson, a middle hitter from Angola, IN, hit .342 with 19 kills, six errors and 38 attempts. She had three block solos, six block assists and three digs in 12 games played.

Jessi Betcher, a setter from Boulder, CO, was named to the Michigan State Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team after leading the Tigers with 138 assists in nine games (15.33 assists per game). She had five aces and 27 digs in the tournament.

There’s No Place Like Home Clemson recorded a 12-2 record in Jervey Gym last season and ranked 26th nationally in home attendance. During the 1997 season the Tigers went 13-2 at home and had the 28th-highest home attendance in the nation. Under head coach Jolene Jordan Hoover, the Tigers are 72-19 (.791) in Jervey Gym.

The Tigers open the home season with a six-match home stand beginning Tuesday versus Winthrop. The Big Orange Bash will be held Sept. 10-12, when Clemson plays host to Kentucky and Notre Dame.