The Clemson volleyball program is set to kick off its inaugural campaign in new Jervey Gym under the leadership of fourth-year Head Coach Jackie Simpson Kirr and with a roster featuring 15 returners from the 2023 squad and seven newcomers. The Tigers are coming off back-to-back postseason appearances, including last year’s NIVC trip to the Great Eight, the team’s deepest postseason run since the 2018 campaign.
Leading the way for the Tigers in 2024 are three-time letter winners Aźyah Dailey and Devan Taylor. Coming off a career year in 2023 where she had a team-high 248 kills, Dailey looks to continue to be an offensive force for the Tigers. The pin hitter from Port Charlotte, Fla., has 14 double-digit kill matches on her career, with eight of them coming in 2023, and was third on the team in points last season, totaling 283.5. With Dailey leading the offensive front, libero Taylor will guide the defense that led the ACC in digs the previous two seasons. The Spring, Texas native led the team in multiple categories last season with 121 sets played, 447 digs and 3.69 digs per set. The three-year starter also looks to increase her standing in the record book after concluding the 2023 season with the seventh most digs in a Clemson career with 1,284 and is on pace to secure sole second place after this season to trail only Didem Ege (2,303, 2006-09). Dailey and Taylor have been named to the ACC Honor Roll each year of their careers.
Helping the two seniors lead the Tigers are sophomore Kennedy Wagner and junior Mia McGrath. After a remarkable freshman campaign for the Orange and Regalia, Wagner will look to continue her momentum. The Indiana native led Clemson with 2.34 kills per set, 39 service aces and in total attacks with 656. Wagner was also second on the team in points (291.0) and points per set (2.97) and had the third most kills for the Tigers with 229 on the year. McGrath has a team-high 466.5 career points during her time with the Tigers and will look to keep leading the team during the upcoming campaign. Other returners from 2023 include Audrey Armbruster, Sophie Catalano, McKenna Gildon, Ava Hewitt, Katie Hurta, Becca Micelle, Mia Moore, Maggie Patterson, Katherine Sandt, Caroline Sele and Kate Simington.
Thanks to the recruiting efforts of Simpson Kirr, Associate Head Coach Taylor Unroe and Assistant Coaches Dan O’Keefe and Quinn Lukens, the Tigers added seven newcomers to bolster their roster. Graduate transfer Indigo Young brings a…