CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers (8-11, 0-8 ACC) fell in three sets (13-25, 17-25, 18-25) to the No. 17 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-4, 5-3 ACC) on Friday afternoon inside Jervey Gym.
Clemson was once again led offensively by senior pin attacker Azyah Dailey, who finished with 10 kills and two solo blocks. Katherine Sandt finished with 12 assists, while Audrey Armbruster notched eight. Devan Taylor recorded 13 digs, five assists and the lone ace for the Tigers, while Mia Moore and Indigo Young added two block assists each.
Georgia Tech opened the match on a 7-1 run that had Clemson playing catch up. Dailey picked up where she left off Wednesday evening, notching six kills in the first with a .333 hitting percentage. Young added two kills for the Tigers, while Moore and McGrath added one each to provide for Clemson’s offense, but GT strung together four different scoring runs that led to the Yellow Jackets 25-13 set win.
The Tigers responded with an 8-3 scoring run to open the second set. Moore recorded two kills and assisted Young on a block during that stretch that also had an ace from Taylor. Kate Hansen got into the mix with a kill and an assisted block with Sandt, followed immediately by a solo block from Dailey. Overall, Clemson clocked five blocks, including two solo blocks from Dailey. The Yellow Jackets came back with an eight and four-point run that Clemson didn’t have an answer to, which led to GT taking set two, 25-17.
Kennedy Wagner and Neea-Maria Joki came off the bench in the third set to provide a new look for the Tigers, both of whom picked up kills in the first five points scored by Clemson. Dailey, Armbruster and Kate Simington spurred a six-point run for the Tigers behind five kills and one block assist that had the set tied at 10-all. The trio of Dailey, Joki and Simington added additional kills for Clemson down the stretch, but GT took an advantage, scoring two points to every one-point Clemson scored to ultimately take the set, 25-18, and the match.
Up Next
The Tigers return to action in a week when they welcome Wake Forest to town on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. on ACCNX. Clemson concludes the three-game home stand on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1:30 p.m. to square off against NC State on ACC Network.