Volleyball nets a 2-1 record in Clemson

With training workouts and summer practices ending, the women's volleyball team rode a positive preseason into South Carolina this weekend for Clemson University's Big Orange Bash. The transition from preseason to their first match was seamless as the Musketeers charged ahead as planned against South Carolina State, winning in straight sets (25-
18, 25-21, 25-11). The sister act of Alex and Aubree Smith led the attack and propelled the Muskies to a dominant victory.
The Smith sisters played to their strengths as Alex recorded a match-high 11 kills, and Aubree, who finished two kills short of a triple-double, notched 31 assists and 11 digs.
The next match proved a greater challenge for the Musketeers as they faced off against Coastal Carolina the following day. After winning the first two sets, the Muskies were forced into a fifth set that resulted in an early 9-3 Xavier run and an eventual match win (25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 15-9).
Four Musketeers - Sarah Brown, Amé White, Alex Smith
and Kelsey Dunaway - finished the match with double-digit kills while Aubree Smith and Stephanie Vorherr recorded double-doubles for digs and assists. Defense proved to be the
Musketeers' strength once again as the team limited Coastal Carolina's attacking success. In the first two matches, Xavier held its opponents' hitting percentage to a collective .084 vs. a Musketeer .307 percentage, allowing a 10-3 run to close out the first set, a 14-3 run in the second set and a pair of Clemson runs after being up 17-9 in the third set. The Muskies' final match of the weekend against Clemson, however,
turned out to be a struggle for the surging squad. In what became the tournament final against the host team, the Xavier women lost the match in three sets (18-25, 15-25, 21-25).
Although the Musketeer defense held Clemson to a .289 hitting percentage in the match, Xavier's attack was stifled with a .607 percentage. Despite the loss, Amé White and
Stephanie Vorherr were honored with selections on the Big Orange Bash All-Tournament Team. Junior Kelsey Dunaway, who recorded 17 kills in Xavier's three tournament matches, described the team as "closer [than in] years before, and that closeness has helped [them] play better together." The Muskies look to continue their hard work and winning ways this weekend for the Xavier Tournament in Cintas Center.
Xavier defeated Morehead State on Tuesday with a score of 3-1.