CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Freshman Solei Thomas (14 kills) and redshirt sophomore Brooke Bailey (11 kills) combined for 25 of Clemson’s 42 kills en route to sweeping Virginia, 25-15, 25-19, 25-22, Saturday evening in Memorial Gymnasium. With the win, the Tigers improved to 15-13 overall and 6-9 in ACC play, while Virginia slipped to 8-18 overall and 4-12 in conference matchups.
“We’ve talked a lot about how we’ve really enjoyed the growth of our young group throughout the course of this season, and the next step in the growth process for us is becoming road warriors,” said Clemson head coach Michaela Franklin. “I really appreciate the focus that our group had tonight and the sustained focus throughout the entire match. We didn’t get comfortable. We continued to fight for points. It was a really great team effort tonight.”
Clemson went up early, 15-3, before going on to take the first set, 25-15. Freshman Ashtynne Alberts led the way in the opening set with five kills on eight attempts. Additionally, freshman setter Lisie Kit made her 2018 debut in the first set and chipped in two assists. The Tigers won set No. 2, 25-19, getting a nice lift from their serve game, registering three aces. Clemson took care of business in the third, 25-22, outhitting the Cavaliers, .353 to .242 to win its first match in Mem Gym since 2012.
“I thought our first contact game in general was very on point tonight. From the service line to serve receive; it allowed Madi Howell, Torie Frederick, Emily Curtis and Katelyn DeGuzman to come in and serve aggressive for us. That’s our back row core. They did a good job tonight, stepping up and taking care of business on our side of the net, which allowed Gabby [Easton] to take care of things offensively.”
Up next, Clemson plays host to Wake Forest (9-18, 4-11) in Jervey Gym on Friday, Nov. 16. Friday’s matchup against the Demon Deacons is slated for 7 p.m., and is set to stream on ACC Network Extra.
For complete coverage of the Clemson volleyball team, follow @ClemsonVB on Twitter and Instagram, and @ClemsonVolleyball on Facebook.
