Tigers Split Opening Matches at Gamecock Invitational Friday

“I felt like today was a good day,” said Clemson head coach Michaela Franklin. “We got a good challenge with our first match, and with our youth, we were able to respond this afternoon. I thought we did a great job being able to spread our offense as well as executing our scouting report, especially for having such a short amount of time to prepare. I thought we were also very good defensively with 11 blocks and 39 digs in a three-set match.”

Freshman middle blocker Adria Oliver led the Clemson effort up front with a match-high 13.5 points on 10 kills, five block assists and a service ace. Oliver also hit .500 for the match along with a .625 kill percentage. Clemson saw a balanced attack from eight different players who registered at least one kill. Additionally, freshman setter Gabby Easton chipped in 29 assists.

In the opening match against ETSU Friday, Clemson won a tight first set, 25-23, led by Alyssa Deloney, who registered five of her career-best 12 kills. After dropping the second set, 16-25, the Tigers remained neck-and-neck with ETSU throughout set No. 3 as neither team led by more than two points. A kill from redshirt sophomore Brooke Bailey late in the third set gave Clemson a 23-22 lead, but the Bucs responded with three straight points to take the game and a 2-1 lead. ETSU would close out the fourth set and match in extra points, 28-26, despite seven Bailey kills in the final set.

Battle tested. Up next, Texas A&M Corpus Christi (5 p.m.). . #ClemsonVB 🏐

A post shared by Clemson Volleyball (@clemsonvb) on Aug 24, 2018 at 11:58am PDT

“I thought the match [against ETSU] showed our level of experience right now. They have more experience than us, which you could see when the match got tight. But on a positive note, that’s the only way I believe our team is going to be able to learn – to learn from those pressure moments under the bright lights.”

Texas A&M Corpus Christi match notes: Clemson recorded 11.0 blocks in just three sets, a first since the Tigers’ 3-0 win over Presbyterian Sept. 11, 2015 … Adria Oliver’s 10 kills mark the second straight match in which a Clemson freshman has recorded double-digit kills (Alberts’ 10 vs. ETSU) … Clemson’s hitting percentage of .286 is the best since its 3-1 win over Georgia Southern Sept. 16, 2017 … The Tigers achieved a sideout percentage of 65% for the match, while holding the Islanders to 37 percent … Freshmen Crystal Childs and Katelyn DeGuzman made their Clemson debuts.

ETSU match notes: Sophomore libero Madi Howell tallied 19 digs to tie her career high for the second time … Freshman setter Gabby Easton dimed 48 assists … Freshman Ashtynne Alberts posted a team-best 15 kills on 46 attacks … Sophomore Alyssa Deloney reached her career high with 12 kills … Deloney hit .241 for the match … Redshirt sophomore Brooke Bailey registered 13 kills while hitting .265 … Seven newcomers: Gabby Easton, Torie Frederick, Ashtynne Alberts, Ava Pritchard, Adria Oliver, Brooke Bailey and Solei Thomas made their Clemson debuts … Freshman Adria Oliver tied the match high with 5.0 blocks – also a team best.

UP NEXT

Who: at South Carolina

When: Saturday, Aug. 25, 3 p.m.

Where: Columbia, S.C. / Carolina Volleyball Center

All-Time Series: 24-39, 6-22 away, last meeting 2017 (L, 3-0), first meeting 1977 (W, 2-0)

Watch: SEC+

Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=224019

Follow: @ClemsonVB on Twitter and Instagram, and @ClemsonVolleyball on Facebook

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