Volleyball Upsets Duke 3-1 on the Road

Oct. 8, 2004

Durham, NC – Clemson battled back from several deficits to claim a 3-1 road upset (30-28, 23-30, 30-28, 30-26) over Duke in volleyball action on Friday. The Tigers improved their overall record to 10-7, 2-3 in conference play. With the loss, Duke fell to 13-4, 4-2 in the ACC.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Jolene Jordan Hoover, head coach of the Tigers. “We’ve lost several tight matches so far this season. But I knew if we could be patient, we would get a big win. It’s a great accomplishment to go on the road and beat a team like Duke.”

Lori Ashton came up big for the Tigers on Friday. The senior middle hitter had 19 kills and a match-high .515 hitting percentage. She had 19 kills, compared to just two errors. Ashton also contributed with five total blocks. The Tigers had 11.5 team blocks, including four by red-shirt freshman Kassie Staup.

Leslie Finn led Clemson with 22 kills, giving her 315 on the season. Finn also had 16 digs, making it the 10th time this season she has recorded a double-double. Anna Vallinch led the Tiger defense with 26 digs.

For Duke, Tassy Rufai led the way with 23 kills. Setter Ali Hausfeld totaled 60 assists to lead the Blue Devil attack.

Game one saw the Tigers trail 28-27, only to score the last three points and claim an early match lead. In game two, Clemson led 10-8 at one point. However, Duke scored eight of the next nine points and did not look back, winning 30-23.

Clemson again trailed in the third game, this time by five at 23-18. But the Tigers were resilient, winning six straight points on their way to a 30-28 victory. Clemson trailed 26-25 in the fourth game, but came back once again to score the next five points and win the match.

The Tigers travel to Winston-Salem, NC to take on Wake Forest on Saturday. First serve is set for 7:00 PM.