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Oct. 26, 2002
CLEMSON, S.C. – Virginia second-year middle Alexis Geocaris (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) registered 12 kills for the second consecutive night, but it wasn’t enough as the UVa volleyball team fell to Clemson 3-0 (30-25, 30-27, 30-28) in three closely contested games Saturday evening (October 26) at Jervey Gym. With the loss, Virginia falls to 7-19 overall and 1-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Tigers improve to 14-11 overall and even their conference mark at 5-5.
After hitting .476 against Georgia Tech Friday evening, Geocaris hit a very respectable .364 with 12 kills against Clemson. Geocaris also notched a match-high six blocks and added five digs. Third-year middle Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) was the only other Cavalier to reach double figures in kills as she totaled 10 to go along with a .321 hitting percentage. Third-year outside hitter Paige Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) added nine kills, eight digs and three blocks. Second-year setter Lily Phillips (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon) fell one dig shy of a double-double for the second consecutive night with nine digs and 38 assists. She also added four kills and two block assists. Third-year libero Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) notched a match-high 16 digs to increase her season average to 4.19 digs per game (381 in 91 games). Ashcraft entered the week 29th among all Division I volleyball players with an average of 4.16 digs per game. It marked the 22nd time this season in 26 matches Ashcraft has reached double figures in digs.
The Clemson duo of Lori Ashton and Marija Zoric accounted for 31 kills in the match. Ashton led the way with 16 kills and a .414 hitting percentage. She also paced the Tigers with four blocks and three service aces, while Zoric hit .323 with 15 kills. Setter Jessi Betcher registered the only double-double of the match with 44 assists and 10 digs. Leslie Finn added nine kills, 15 digs and three blocks, while Stephanie Haskell contributed 13 digs to the Clemson defensive effort.
Statistically, the match was very close with Clemson holding a slight edge in each of the major categories. The Tigers held a 53-47 advantage in kills and outhit UVa .208 to .190 as well. Clemson also held a 63-56 edge in digs and an 8-6 margin in team blocks.
Virginia returns to action on Tuesday, October 29 when it hosts ACC rival Duke at 8:00 p.m. at University Hall.