In a loud Hanner Fieldhouse up 27-26 and leading 2-1, Kirsten Barrett and Claire Smith combined for a block to seal Georgia Southern volleyball (4-1) first P4 win since Sep. 9, 2016, taking down Clemson (3-2) in four sets on Saturday.
"What a great atmosphere, the crowd had phenomenal energy," head coach Chad Willis said. "I thought as we started to get a little bit fatigued coming down the stretch, they were a big part of pushing us over the finish line. Credit to Eagle Nation for showing out today. I'm proud of our group for a win like this against a solid P4 opponent, and Clemson, a talented team. These are the type of opportunities we want to put ourselves in, and if we continue to find a way, then we can continue to build off that, and it will pay dividends."
The Eagles rode the crowd's momentum at Hanner during the first set. Back-to-back kills by Jillian Gray put the Eagles up 21-17, and Reagan Barth's kill fended off a late charge from the Tigers to win 25-21.
Trailing 23-22 in the second stanza, GS scored four of the final five points to win 26-24. Lydia Seymour took advantage of a joust at the net and sent down a kill to end it.
The third set was similarly back-and-forth. The Eagles staked themselves to a 20-16 lead, but Clemson rallied back, scoring consecutive points tied at 23 to narrowly escape 25-23.
Georgia Southern would not be denied the win in the final frame. Clemson and the Eagles pushed back at each other for set point, but Smith and Barrett, the setter, closed it out with the block to earn the Eagles' fourth win of the season, winning the final set 28-26, bringing a packed Hanner Fieldhouse to its feet.
It was Willis' first-ever win over a P4 opponent, snapping an 11-game skid for the program. The last time the Eagles took down a P4 and ACC foe at Hanner Fieldhouse was Sep. 9, 2016, when the team beat Wake Forest.
The Eagles had never won a set against a P4 opponent under Willis until Saturday.
It was a total team effort in the win. Gray led the way with a career-best 23 kills, hitting .388, while Paige Powers (15) and Barth (10) joined her in double figures as the team hit .248 and held Clemson to a .206 mark.
Barrett filled the stat sheet with 41 assists, 13 digs and three block assists, including the game-winner. She moved to 30 assists from becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 1,000.
"The atmosphere Eagle Nation brought helped us out," Barrett said. "At the end, you could just feel the crowd roaring. The entire game, we just kept the course and just stayed playing our game and trusted our training."
Smith had five blocks to pace the Eagles, while Seymour and Barth each chipped in four. Ashlyn Lovett continued her solid defensive start to the season with a game-high 17 digs, with four other Eagles joining her with double digits.
Georgia Southern moves to 4-1 on the season following the signature win against the Tigers and will gear up for its next tournament, kicking off the Eagle Invitational against North Carolina A&T on Thursday.
