Volleyball (@ClemsonVB) Cruises Past Georgia Tech

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team posted an impressive 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-17) win against Georgia Tech on Wednesday night in Jervey Gym on Solid Orange Night. The Tigers (8-8, 2-3 ACC) hit .295 as a team and swept the Jackets (7-10, 1-4 ACC) at home for the second straight season. It was a festive atmosphere, with many of the student-athletes from other sports in attendance supporting the Tigers.  “It’s really good to get a win like this, especially against a quality conference opponent like Georgia Tech,” said Head Coach Jolene Hoover, who won her 211th career ACC match. “We came out really disciplined and focused. It was so great to get rewarded with a win. We’ve been playing better and playing hard, so it’s really nice to have that show up in the win column. They knocked off No. 18 Florida State last week, so this is a good win for us.”  Clemson will have a quick turnaround as Notre Dame comes to Jervey at 7:00 pm on Friday in the first conference action between the two schools. It will be Alumni Night, as more than 20 former players will be in attendance. Following the match, fans will have the opportunity to meet the team and collect autographs.  Mo Simmons, who hails from the Atlanta area, led Clemson with 14 kills on .355 hitting and 17 digs. It was her fifth straight double-double and the 24th of her career. She crossed the 1,100 kill milestone on the night, and is one dig shy of 900 for her career as well.  Senior setter Hannah Brenner guided the Tigers to a .484 hitting first set, Clemson’s best offensive output in a set this season. Kristin Faust had six of her 12 kills in the frame, while Simmons had five kills on seven swings and freshman Leah Perri was a perfect 4-for-4.  In fact, each of Clemson’s first eight attacks and nine of the first ten went for kills. Brenner had 32 assists on 67 set attempts, a kill conversion rate of .478.  Clemson’s aggressive serving was able to take the Yellow Jackets out of system. Most notably, Irem Bayramolu served 19 times in the three sets, and added three aces to her season total, which now rests at 17, four more than the no. 2 player, Niki Collier.  Collier also played well at libero, tallying nine digs and going 15-for-15 in serve receive. Over her last two matches, she is 66-for-66.  The first set was tight throughout, although Clemson’s offense fired on all cylinders. There were 15 ties, but with the set tied at 17-17, Bayramoglu served the Tigers to seven straight points to blow it open. The only lead the Jackets would take the rest of the match was the first four points of the third set. Clemson quickly battled back, however, knotting the score at 5-5, before opening up a 19-12 lead.  After playing Notre Dame on Friday, Clemson will have a week to prepare for Wake Forest on Oct. 18, and the Duke on Oct. 20. Clemson’s match against the Blue Devils will be the “Dig Pink” match, with all proceeds going to the Side Out Foundation.