Tigers Take Down Tar Heels in Five Sets on Saturday

Oct. 31, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Clemson volleyball fought back from a 2-1 deficit to win in Chapel Hill in five sets (13-25,25-23,19-25,25-20,15-11) to win their third consecutive ACC match. The Tigers (18-7, 8-5 ACC) moved past North Carolina (11-12, 7-5 ACC) in the standings into fourth place with the win. Lia Proctor had 19 of her own to go with 15 digs.

Didem Ege fell one dig short of tying her own record for most digs in a match, as she had 35 on the afternoon. Freshman Cansu Ozdemir had three service aces, giving her eight on the weekend overall.

The Tigers hit .364 in the fifth set on their way to their third five-set win of the season. The Tigers and Tar Heels each won on the other’s home floor this season.

In the first set, Clemson jumped out to a 4-2 lead, but North Carolina hit an astounding .444 for the set and were able to side out on 11 out of 13 Tiger serves, including the last 11. Sandra Adeleye had six kills to lead the Tigers, who hit.121 in the set.

In the second set, North Carolina looked like it might take control, taking a 12-8 lead, and held a four point edge as far as 14-10. However, Clemson started to put some offense together with a few lineup changes from Hoover, who inserted Serenat Yaz into the rotation. The Tigers rode Adeleye and Proctor for much of the set offensively, but Murphy was able to find five different targets for kills.

Clemson fought to tie the set at 17-17, and traded points until a Fuller attack error put Clemson ahead 21-20. The Heels took a one-point lead at 22-21, but a Hoover timeout rallied the team to a 4-1 run to close out the set, knotting the match at one apiece. There were eight tie scores and three lead changes in the second set, as Clemson allowed only a .143 hitting pct in the set.

In the third set, North Carolina ran out to a 5-1 lead, taking advantage of three Clemson errors. The Heels were able to stretch the lead to 13-6, opening a cushion they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the set. The Tigers fought back to within four at 20-16 and 21-17. However, a 3-0 Tar Heel run put the set out of reach, and North Carolina won 25-19.

The Tigers weren’t done fighting, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set behind Proctor, who had two kills and an ace. The Tigers were able to maintain a small cushion throughout the set, , even stretching the lead to six at 17-11. With Clemson ahead 19-13, a North Carolina timeout sparked a 7-2 run to bring UNC to within one at 21-20. However a Hoover timeout was exactly what the Tigers called for, going on a 4-0 run and taking the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth.

Clemson got a hard edge in the fifth set, taking a quick 3-0 lead behind Adeleye, who had a kill and a block assist. The Tigers won a crucial point at6-4 on a kill by Yaz that found the center of the Tar Heel defense. Proctor then put a ball between two blockers for a kill, and Alexa Rand’s solo block gave Clemson a 9-4 lead. Proctor found the floor again to give Clemson a 12-8 lead out of a timeout. North Carolina fought back to a 13-11 deficit, but a career-best 19th kills from Adeleye and a solo block from Kelsey Murphy clinched the five-set win for the Tigers.

The Tigers will go on the road for the second consecutive weekend as they make a swing through Maryland and Boston College on Friday and Sunday, respectively.