William & Mary Holds Off Tigers, 3-2

CLEMSON, S.C. – Leah Perri and Kailey Harvell combined for 32 kills and a .353 hitting percentage in Clemson’s season opener, however William & Mary was able to hold on to defeat the Tigers in five sets. Keely Hayes set the Tigers to 45 assists and registered six kills on nine errorless swings. Megan McGinley led Clemson’s blocking effort with eight block assists.

“There were a lot of positives but I wish we could have been better in close situations,” said head coach Hugh Hernesman. “It’s not often you outscore an opponent in a match and lose. That shows that we played at a very good level, now we just need to be more efficient and make better choices in tight situations.”

The Tigers started the match with a bang, hitting .480 in the first set with 14 kills to defeat the Tribe 25-15. Despite the statement set in the first, William & Mary responded by taking the next two sets, 25-22 and 25-18. With their backs against the wall, Harvell led the offense killing five balls on six swings for an .833 hitting percentage, fueling the 25-14 victory.

Clemson out-performed William & Mary in every statistical category other than service errors. The Tigers aced the Tribe 12 times with 12 errors while the opposition aced Clemson four times with just five errors.

The Tigers are back in action tomorrow, August 29 in Jervey Gym as they will take on High Point at 1:30 p.m., and Wofford at 7:00 p.m.