October 1, 2004

Box Score

Clemson Box Score

 

BLACKSBURG - Senior outside hitter Annie Spicer (Barrington, Ill.) led the way with 20 kills in a three game sweep, 30-21, 30-23, 30-25, over the visiting Tigers of Clemson Friday evening at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, to push the Hokies into first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a unblemished 3-0 record.

Tech is now 8-6 overall, 3-0 in the ACC, while the Tigers fall to 8-7 overall, 1-3 in ACC action.

Spicer hit .245 with 20 kills on 49 attempts and only eight errors. She also added eight digs and a lone service ace in the match.

Sophomore Katie Esbrook (Barrington, Ill.) was also in double figures, hitting a match-high .500 with 16 kills on 26 attempts and only three errors. She also served back-to-back service aces and added five digs and one block assist.

Junior Melissa Markowski (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) had a match-high 48 digs in the match and totaled 11 digs and a pair of kills.

Senior Kaitlin McPeak (Pittsburgh. Pa.) had a match-high and season-high 13 digs for the Hokies and freshman Amanda Cloyd (Munice, Ind.) added 12 digs.

In Game 1, Tech opened the scoring with a 6-2 run to take an early lead and would pull ahead 10-5 before Clemson would call a time out. The Tigers fought back but it was all Tech as the Hokies pulled away 19-11 and then 25-15.

The Tigers closed the gap to within six points and the score 26-20, but the Hokies would finish on a 4-1 run, winning 30-21.

The Tigers would hit .306 with 14 kills on 36 attempts and only three errors, but Tech would have its best Game 1 of the year, hitting .391 with 22 kills on 46 attempts and only four errors.

In Game 2, the Hokies would battle with the Tigers until Tech pulled off a 8-1 run to take the lead, 14-7. The Hokies would improve their lead to eight, and the score 18-10, off three-straight Spicer kills before Clemson called a time out.

The Tigers would rally but could not score more than three points a rally, and fell in the second stanza, 30-22.

Game 3 was again all Tech, with the Hokies pulling away for an early 12-8 lead and then scoring two more points to make the score 14-8 after a Clemson timeout. Tech would never lead by more than four points until the score 23-21 and pulling off a 4-1 run and finishing, 30-25, off three Spicer kills to win the match in three games.

"This is a great step for our program, no one thought we would be in this position at the beginning of the season," said Head Coach Greg Smith. "We are progressing everyday and the players are starting to believe they belong on the court with these teams. We are preparing more this year for each match than last year and the hard work they are putting in at practice is paying off on game day."

The Hokies are now on a three-match winning streak after hitting .203 from the floor compared to Clemson's .079 hitting percentage, including Tech holding the Tigers to a -.023 hitting percentage in Game 2.

Tech was again on the losing side at the net with 27 hitting errors compared to Clemson's 23, but committed only five service errors, compared to the Tiger's six.

The Hokies will next play on Sunday, Oct. 3, hosting Georgia Tech at Cassell Coliseum at 1 p.m. in Atlantic Coast Conference action.

Last time the two teams met was Sept. 11, 1999, when Georgia Tech defeated Tech 3-0. The Yellow Jackets lead the series between the two teams with a 2-1 record against the Hokies, but Georgia Tech has never played in Blacksburg, all three all-time meetings have been neutral or away locations for the Hokies.

The first meeting between the two schools was Oct. 7, 1978 with the Yellow Jackets winning over the visiting Hokies, 2-1. The only time Tech beat the Yellow Jackets was Nov. 9, 1990, with the Hokies winning 3-0 over Georgia Tech.