Nov. 22, 2003

Final Stats | 2003 ACC Women's Volleyball Tournament

ORLANDO, Fla. - The second-seeded Maryland Terrapins defeated the sixth-seeded Clemson Tigers, 3-0 (30-26, 31-29, 30-25) Saturday afternoon at the Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. Senior Lynnsy Jones led the Terrapin attack with a .419 hitting percentage connecting on 14 kills, nine digs, two blocks and two service aces. The Tigers were led by Leslie Finn who posted 20 kills and eight digs.

Clemson jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in game one as Maryland was forced to call their first timeout to quiet the Tiger attack. Out of the timeout, Clemson continued their hot hitting running off five straight points to extend the Tiger lead to 12-3. Then the Terrapins Jennifer DeWalt connected on two consecutive kills to draw Maryland within six. After a Tiger timeout, Clemson saw their lead increase to seven but not before the Terps would cut the deficit to three at 18-15. Maryland took their first lead in game one at the 22-21 mark thanks in large part to a kill by Sarah Treadwell. The lead was short lived as the Tiger's Leslie Finn connected on a cross-court kill to take back the advantage for Clemson. After a series of point exchanges, Maryland gained the advantage after two straight block assists to earn the 30-26 victory.

In game two, Maryland broke out early with a pair of back row attacks by Jones to take the 8-5 lead. The Tigers roared back winning four of the next five points to draw even with the Terps at nine apiece. Maryland regained the lead at 12-11 when Treadwell took the Aimee Huddleston pass cross-court for the kill. Clemson crawled their way back in front when Finn sent an attack cross-court for the kill and an 18-17 lead. The Tigers extended their lead to a game-high three when the Terps countered with a 6-0 run and a 24-21 advantage. Finn once again came up huge for Clemson as her 13th kill of the match brought the game even at 28-28. But Maryland fought back to take game two by a score of 31-29.

Maryland gained the advantage in the early going of game three leading by as many as three at 10-7, but three straight Clemson points including a pair of kills by junior Lori Ashton tied the game at ten. The Terps stormed back out in front behind the service of Jones to extend their lead to three at 15-12. But just as quickly as Clemson cut the lead to one, Maryland went on a 4-0 run to increase their margin to five at 19-14 lead. The Terps refused to relinquish the lead as they took the third game 30-25.

With the win Maryland advances to Sunday's championship final where they will face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the third time in conference history. In the previous two meetings, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Terrapins 3-0 in 1995, while the Terps won 3-0 in 1996. Maryland runs their record to 25-7, while Clemson drops to 18-16.

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