CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson took down UNCW in a pair of matches at Jervey Gym on Saturday. The Tigers (9-6, 3-5 ACC) swept the first, 3-0, and held on in the second match to win 3-2, needing 20 points to claim the fifth set.
Camryn Hannah tallied 27 total kills, including 17-kill 11-dig effort in the nightcap. Cate Long had 22 total kills, with 14 on .353 hitting in the second match. Mckenna Slavik had 31 and 43 assists in the two matches, respectively.
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Hannah posted five of her 10 kills in the first half of the opening frame, which Clemson went on to win, 26-24. The Tigers had set point, 24-21, but UNCW was able to extend the set after tying the game, 24-24. A UNCW service error, followed by an ace for Hannah ended the set and gave Clemson a 1-0 lead.
After jumping out to a 5-1 lead to open the second, the Tigers finessed a pair of 5-0 runs later in the game, but UNCW once again battled back at the very end of the set to force extras. With the Tigers leading, 24-20, UNCW orchestrated four straight points to tie the set, 24-24. Then, Clemson looked to its middles in Ani Clark and Ava Pritchard, who accounted for the final two points of the game respectively, which the Tigers won, 26-24.
The Tigers continued their solid play in the third set and never looked back. Clemson started out on a 5-1 run behind the serve of middle Ani Clark, which was followed by a UNCW timeout. The Seahawks rebounded and created a few runs of their own until Cate Long went back to the line and dialed up 7 serves in a row with the help of the Tigers’ offense. After Long’s run behind the service line, the Tigers led, 22-15. A pair of kills and a block by Solei Thomas and Pritchard closed out the match to put a stamp on the win.
Camryn Hannah got the Tigers going early as she tallied 8 kills in the first set alone while also adding three digs. Clemson hit .241 and battled defensively, holding UNCW to a hitting percentage of .172 The Tigers picked up 14 digs compared to the Seahawks three.
Clemson carried over the momentum and ran with it in the second set, increasing its hitting percentage to a stellar .286 and holding UNCW to a cool .103. Slavik continued her stellar distribution of the offense as five players put away two kills in the set.
UNCW started out strong in the third set and continued to battle, facing 6 ties in the set alone. The Seahawks ended up on top, narrowly defeating the Tigers by a score of 26-24 as they doubled their set 1 and 2 hitting efficiencies and bettered their backcourt efforts digging 16 balls.
The Seahawks continued to roll in the fourth set, holding the Tigers to less than a .100 hitting efficiency and
Up next, Clemson (9-6, 3-5 ACC) will have the week off before beginning ACC pod play, which will consist of all fifteen league teams competing across five locations with three teams at a given site for the remainder of the season. The Tigers are scheduled to take on North Carolina (7-2, 6-2 ACC) on Saturday, March 6 in Syracuse, New York before taking on Syracuse (4-4, 4-4 ACC) on Sunday, March 7. Both matches are slated for 1 p.m.
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