Round 1 (Nov. 30) - Clemson vs. Eastern Kentucky

CLEMSON 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-15)

MURFREESBORO, TN — Clemson hit .385 overall and was steered in terrific fashion by Mckenna Slavik (29 assists and five kills) in a sweep of Eastern Kentucky in a Round 1 matchup Thursday at the 2023 NIVC.

The Tigers (18-13) will play Ball State or Middle Tennessee in the Super 16 on Friday. The Colonels close the season at 21-9.

Clemson took advantage of a slow start by EKU in Set 1, using a 6-1 run to move ahead 13-5 and looked in full control when leading 23-15. The Colonels stormed back and tied it at 24-all with kills from Sarah Mitchell and Carson Ledford; Clemson pulled it out after a kill by Ayah Dailey and a block assist from both Mckenna Slavik and Adria Powell.

Another Tiger run in the second set drove a 19-17 lead to 23-17, with the set secured on a kill from Dailey and an ace from Mia McGrath.

Clemson stormed ahead 7-0 in the final set and saw the lead carved back to 10-8. Two aces from McGrath helped restore the advantage to 15-9, and kills from Slavik and Sophie Catalano wrapped it all up. The Tigers closed with eight kills from Powell and Dailey.

For Eastern Kentucky, AG Vandagriff had 11 kills; Chloe Mason added 16 assists and 11 digs.