Wake Forest Hands Clemson First ACC Loss

Sept. 24, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – In a match that featured 25 ties and was decided by a total of six points, Wake Forest (8-4, 1-1 ACC) defeated Clemson (10-3, 1-1 ACC) by a 3-0 count (28-26, 26-24, 25-23) in an ACC volleyball at Jervey Gymnasium. The Tigers look to bounce back on Saturday as they take on Duke at 6:00 pm in a Solid Orange event. Duke (10-2, 2-0 ACC) defeated Georgia Tech on Friday night in five sets.

The loss was Clemson’s first in ACC play this season, and snapped a seven match win streak for Clemson against Wake Forest.

Serenat Yaz led Clemson offensively with 14 kills, and also registered 12 digs, her fourth double-double of the season. Sandra Adeleye had 10 kills on the evening.

The Tigers hit .186 for the match, and setter Lacy Hayes set a three-set career-high in assists with 38 (12.7 per set). Cansu Ozdemir led four Tigers in double-digit digs with 18, while Yaz had 12, Mo Simmons tied a career-high with 11, and Natalie Patzin had 10 to go with her nine kills.

Wake Forest entered the intermission with a 2-0 lead, thanks to 28-26 and 26-24 wins in the first two sets. In the first set, Wake fought off game point at 24-23, and took the lead. Clemson fought off three set points, but ultimately Wake was able to put the Tigers away, 28-26. Wake had 16 kills and held the Tigers to a .116 hitting percentage, based strongly in their five blocks in the set. Yaz and Adeleye each had four kills in the set. The first set had 16 tied scores and four lead changes.

The Demon Deacons came out strong in the second set, capitalizing on Clemson errors to take a 5-1 lead. But Clemson came back and tied the set at 6-6. The teams traded points before Wake again opened up four-point edge, taking a 14-10 lead. Clemson came back to tie it at 19.The teams then traded four-point runs, with the Deacs taking the set on a kill from Kelsey Jones.

In the third set, Clemson opened up a small lead, taking a 12-8 advantage after a Sandra Adeleye kill. However, Wake Forest responded with a 7-0 run to take a 15-12 lead, and stretched it to four at 18-14. Clemson refused to quit, tying the match at 19-19, and again at 21-21. Three kills from Andrea Beck, who finished with a match-high 15, helped seal it for Wake Forest, 25-23.