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CINCINNATI – Moneshia Simmons and Karis Watson combined for 31 kills and a .309 hitting percentage as Clemson posted a 25-14, 25-16, 20-25, 25-20 win over Northern Kentucky in the Xavier Invitational on Friday.
Simmons finished with 18 kills and attacked at a .300 clip, while Watson added 13 kills and a .323 hitting percentage. Clemson (1-1) also collected 11 team blocks and hit .241 for the match as the Tigers defeated Northern Kentucky for the first time in three meetings.
"I think the first set we were really nervous, especially being our first game of the year and having a lot of younger players," said Northern Kentucky head coach
Liz Hart. "We came out strong and played really well. The third set was awesome. We got off to a great start and were able to pull it out in the end. I'm really excited about the way they played and the effort they put into it."
Jenna Ruble collected 14 kills, four blocks and hit .400 for Northern Kentucky, which attacked at a .154 clip in its season opener.
Megan Wanstrath sparked a third-set victory and finished with six kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
"
Jenna Ruble played fantastic, and I think she doubled her blocks in the third and fourth set," Hart said. "They just kept going at her and she did a great job of putting the ball away and getting us a lot of points.
"Megan played fantastic. She had a really great offseason, and gained a lot of confidence in herself. She hit a lot of great shots, played really aggressive, and I'm really excited about the way Megan played today."
Freshman setter
Taylor Snyder dished out 36 assists in her collegiate debut, while freshman outside hitter
Keely Creamer added 12 kills. The Norse attacked at a .371 clip to take the third set, 25-20, with Wanstrath picking up a kill on set point.
In the fourth set, Creamer's kill cut Clemson's lead to 15-14, but the Tigers countered with three straight points to gain an 18-14 edge. Creamer again stopped the Clemson mini-run with a kill, but the Tigers pulled away to take the set by a 25-20 score and win the match.
Northern Kentucky had knocked off Clemson in the previous two matchups, both when the two programs competed in the now-defunct AIAW. The Norse had not played the Tigers since the 1980 AIAW Southern Regional Tournament in Regents Hall.
Northern Kentucky plays Xavier at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Norse then meet No. 7 Michigan – which swept past Clemson on Friday – at 1 p.m. to close out the two-day tournament.
"I think we just have to keep worrying about ourselves right now and we'll work some things out," Hart said. "A lot of it is because we just played for the first time today, we had some communication errors here and there, but the effort was there. We followed our strategy really well, so we'll just keep at it and keep working hard."
Northern Kentucky opens its home season Tuesday night at 7 p.m. by hosting Wright State in Regents Hall.
