Tigers To Square Off With Gamecocks In Carolina Classic

COLUMBIA, S.C. – After winning the Big Orange Bash, Clemson (2-1) now heads to Columbia, S.C., for matchups with South Carolina (3-0), Furman (1-2) and Winthrop (1-2) in the Carolina Classic. The premiere matchup with the Gamecocks is slated for Friday, September 2 at 7:00 p.m. The Tigers will take on Winthrop at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday, September 3 and conclude the tournament with the Paladins at 4:00 p.m.

Clemson is looking to win its third-straight contest on Friday night against the Gamecocks, following wins over High Point and Wofford. Four Tigers found a way to stand out in what was a very successful tournament had by all of Clemson’s student-athletes. Leah Perri, Kailey Harvell and Megan McGinley were named to the Big Orange Bash All-Tournament Team with Perri earning MVP honors.

Perri threw down 60 kills over the course of 14 sets for a 4.29 kills per set average. Only 14 other student-athletes in the nation recorded 60 kills or more in their opening weekend. Harvell tallied 37 kills while McGinley had 27 to go along with 19 blocks. All three Tigers were efficient as well with McGinley leading the group with a .302 hitting percentage. Harvell hit .253 on the outside with Perri hitting .248. Feeding the offense, Keely Hayes dished out 149 assists for a 10.64 assists per set average. Hayes currently has the sixth most assists in the country.

South Carolina swept Binghamton, Tennessee-Martin and the College of Charleston all in three sets on its opening weekend at the College of Charleston Tournament. The Gamecocks defeated the Tigers in last year’s Carolina Classic in four sets (26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 15-25).

Furman and Winthrop each dropped two of their three opening matches last weekend. The Paladins defeated Auburn in four sets but lost to Georgia Tech in three and the University of the Pacific in four. The Eagles fell at the hands of Jacksonville and UNC Wilmington in three sets in their opening weekend but is currently coming off a victory over Davidson.