Hurricanes Fall to Clemson in a Four-Game Battle
Nov. 5, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team fell to visiting Clemson, 3-1 (18-30, 30-23, 27-30, 28-30), in Atlantic Coast Conference action Sunday afternoon at the Knight Sports Complex. With the loss, the Hurricanes fall to 9-16 overall and 6-10 in the ACC while the Tigers improve to 16-7 overall and 11-4 in ACC play.
Freshman libero Cassie Loessberg led the Hurricanes with a career-high 28 digs, and now leads the team with a total of 257 digs on the season.
Sophomore Ashley Woods knocked down a career-high 13 kills. She now has 176 total kills on the season.
Senior Frannie Savage led all players with 16 kills, posted five digs and contributed two blocks, while Jill Robinson also led all players with 48 assists.
Overall, Miami out-performed the Tigers by putting up 64 kills versus Clemson’s 59, and registered five more assists with a total of 56. It was Clemson’s defense with 85 digs, hitting percentage of .165, and total team blocks of 13 that led to the Tigers victory.
Both teams battled for the lead early in game one which saw seven ties. At seven-all, Clemson scored the next two points off of a kill by sophomore Danielle Hepburn who scored the second point. Midway through game one, the Tigers gained a five-point lead with the score at 16-11, sending UM to take their first timeout. Clemson did not let up, posting the next three points, however Jill Robinson responded on the offensive end with a kill, and Miami went on to put up an additional two points. Clemson’s lead had stretched to an eight-point difference at 28-16 then went on a 29-16 match-point off of an attack error by Ciara Michel. The Hurricanes tried to stay in the game by putting up another two kills, but it was not enough as Clemson went on the take the game 30-18 and the 1-0 lead.
Following the third set with the score1-2 of game two, Miami went on a nine-point run expanding the their lead 10-2. It was a mere blue-print of the competitive play the Hurricanes maintained enroute to a 30-23 win. With Miami in the lead 21-14, Robinson shutdown the attack from Kelsey Murphy by jamming down a block solo, that sparked a four-point run. Though down by eight at 19-27, the Tigers forced Miami to take a timeout after a kill by Hepburn and two attack errors by the Hurricanes. Miami’s Lici McGee put down a kill giving the Hurricanes the 29-21 match-point advantage. But a ball handling error and a service ace off of UM, kept Clemson in the game. This did not stop McGee’s attack with one last kill, sending the Hurricanes to the locker room with the game win and tying Clemson one game apiece.
Game three saw an early 15-9 Clemson lead. As Miami trailed 14-20, the Hurricanes went on to register the next three points, bringing the score within three at 17-20. By 21-25, Ashley Woods registered a kill but the Tigers scored another three, putting the score at 28-21. However, the Hurricanes were not ready to call it quits as they went on a five-point run, pulling the score within two at 26-28. An attack error off of Lauren Rinderknecht brought the game to a match-point 26-29 in favor of the Tigers. Ciara Michel tried to keep the Hurricanes in the game with a kill, but it was Clemson’s Anna Vallinch who closed the game with a kill of her own at 30-27, sending the Tigers to a 2-1 lead.
In the final game, The Hurricanes trailed the Tigers by as much as eight with the score at 14-22. In the next six sets, Miami posted five kills, took advantage of an attack error by the Tigers, and also forced Clemson to take their first time-out, with the score 20-22. The Hurricanes tied the game 24-all off a block assists by Jill Robinson and Angelica Ellis. Clemson went up by one point, 26-25. From there, the lead went back and forth. With Miami trailing by one at 28-29, the Tigers’ Kelsey Murphy tipped in the final kill, sending Clemson off the court with the 30-28 win and match victory.
Miami will play in their final two home matches Friday and Saturday, November 10-11. The Hurricanes will take on the Hokies of Virginia Tech Friday evening at 7:00 p.m., and face the Cavaliers of Virginia at 7:30 p.m. the flowing evening. The Hurricanes wrap-up ACC play on the road with their final four matches November 17-18 and 22-24.
