Vach’s Double-Double Boosts Canes Past Clemson, 3-1
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team earned a season sweep of Clemson with a 3-1 win on Saturday night inside the Knight Sports Complex.
The Hurricanes (21-4, 12-3 ACC) earned the win in the first set, 25-22, followed by the Tigers (12-15, 3-12 ACC) evening the match up after the second set victory, 25-18. Miami responded with a convincing 25-12 third frame win and sealed the match in the fourth set, 25-20.
“Clemson made some really good lineup and tactical changes, as we expected,” said head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara. “They also did a nice job receiving serve, I thought. It made this match much closer than last weekend and I think we need as many tough matches as we can get this time of year. We didn’t play our best, so I’m pleased to win this one in four sets.”
Miami recorded its 10th match this year with double-digit blocks, finishing with 12 on the night.
Four Hurricanes – Peyman Yardimci, Janet Kalaniuvalu, Aristea Tontai and Angela Grieve – tallied double-digit kills in the win. This is the fifth time this season that four Miami players have finished a contest with double-digit kills. Yardimci led all hitters in the match with 14 kills off a .393 attacking percentage. Kalaniuvalu posted 13 kills, while Tontai added in 12 and Grieve had 10 in the win.
“It’s a bit rare for freshmen to get better in November – usually that’s about when they start to fade,” added Gandara. “But how about Peyman? It’s been a while since she’s struggled, and it felt like today was a coming out party of sorts. She had to be good for us to win and she was. She’s a joy to coach and I feel so fortunate that she chose Miami.”
Savannah Vach notched her eighth career double-double with a match-high 47 assists and 13 digs. The junior setter added in four kills.
Freshman defensive specialist Yaidaliz Rosado had a career night as she totaled a career-best 14 digs.
In a highly competitive opening frame, it was Clemson who took a narrow two-point lead at the media timeout, 15-13. The Tigers advantage extended to four on three separate occasions late. Miami utilized a 3-0 run to pull within one at 20-19. Down by two, 22-20, Kalaniuvalu sparked a 5-0 Hurricanes run as a she teamed up with Janice Leao to seal the 25-22 set win.
The Canes went on three early 3-0 runs to regain the lead in the second set, 12-10. Once again, Clemson was up at the media break with a slim lead, 15-14. Miami was forced to burn its first timeout with the Tigers up by three, 19-16. The Hurricanes late push was fended off by Clemson as it evened the match at a set apiece with the second frame victory, 25-18.
It was all Miami from the get-go in the third set. The Canes jumped in front quickly with four straight points to open the frame as they never let up and cruised to the dominant 25-12 win.
The teams swapped 3-0 runs to open the fourth set, eventually drawing even at 7-7. Miami used a 4-1 run to pull ahead, 11-8. Clemson quickly responded by taking five of the next six points and regain the advantage at 13-12. Ahead of the media timeout, the Hurricanes gained control with three straight points and go up, 15-13, at the break. Just six points later, down 18-16, the Tigers used their first timeout. Miami earned back-to-back points to close out the set with a final score of 25-20.
Next up, the Hurricanes will travel to Tallahassee to face in-state rival Florida State at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 19.
