After narrowly beating the Clemson Tigers in Coral Gables last week, Miami volleyball traveled to Death Valley, South Carolina, for a rematch on Friday night.
Despite the previous encounter being a five–set thriller that pushed the ‘Canes to the limit, this time around Miami had an easier path to victory, downing the Tigers 3-1 for its fourth straight win.
In the first set, Miami (17-9, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)) picked up where the previous match left off, gaining a five–point advantage in the early stages of the set. Clemson (12-15, 3-12 ACC) would come back and briefly take the lead at 16-15, before the ‘Canes grabbed control again.
Miami eventually took a 24-21 lead, setting up three set points. However, Clemson went on a 4-0 run to get a set point of its own.
Miami leveled the score at 25 before Clemson scored two consecutive points to steal the opening set.
With the momentum at their backs, the Tigers controlled the second set. They claimed the lead in the beginning and grew it to a six–point advantage, 20-14. This time around, it was the ‘Canes which cracked the code.
They proceeded to score 11 of the next 12 points to surge from behind and take the second set, 25-21, to tie the match.
From there, it was smooth sailing for Miami. The Hurricanes had all the answers against the Tigers, as they would comfortably win the next two sets by an identical score of 25-19. In both sets, the teams were close in the opening stretch before Miami pulled away.
Miami’s poised and efficient play proved the previous match had not been a fluke. The ‘Canes led in virtually every major statistic with a few standout performances.
Senior Janice Leao had both an offensive and defensive showing, racking up three aces and eight blocks, which were both team highs. Redshirt junior Angela Grieve was a wrecking ball on the offensive side once again with 17 kills, and sophomore defensive specialist Yaidaliz Rosado embodied her position with a match–high 21 digs.
Surprisingly, senior Savannah Vach did not have the most assists of the match, coming up just shy with 43 compared to Clemson setter Mckenna Slavik’s 44.
The ‘Canes have now won four in a row, including a top 10 win over Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes look to keep the momentum going as the NCAA tournament looms ahead.
Up next, Miami will play another familiar opponent, Syracuse, which began its four-game winning streak. Tipoff will be Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Knight Sports Complex.