The Clemson volleyball program will begin its inaugural season in the new Jersey Gym under the leadership of four-year head coach Jackie Simpson Kirr and with a roster that includes 15 returnees from the 2023 squad and seven freshmen. The Tigers are coming off two consecutive postseason appearances, including last year’s NIVC trip to the Great Eight, the team’s strongest postseason appearance since the 2018 season.
Leading the Tigers in 2024 are three-time letterwinners Aźyah Dailey and Devan Taylor. After a career year in 2023 in which she tied for the most kills on the team with 248 kills, Dailey looks to continue to be an offensive force for the Tigers. The pinhitter from Port Charlotte, Florida, has 14 double-digit kill matches in her career, including eight in 2023, and was the third-leading player on the team last season with 283.5 total points. While Dailey leads the offense, libero Taylor will lead the defense, which led the ACC in digs the past two seasons. The Spring, Texan native led the team in multiple categories last season with 121 sets played, 447 digs and 3.69 digs per set. The three-year starter also looks to improve her place in the record book after finishing the 2023 season with 1,284 digs, the seventh-most in a Clemson career, and is on pace to secure sole possession of second place after this season, behind only Didem Ege (2,303, 2006-09). Dailey and Taylor have been named to the ACC Honor Roll every year of their careers.
The two seniors will be joined by sophomore Kennedy Wagner and third-year sophomore Mia McGrath to lead the Tigers. After a remarkable freshman season for the Orange and Regalia, Wagner will look to keep her momentum going. The Indiana native led Clemson with 2.34 kills per set, 39 service aces and 656 total attacks. Wagner was also second on the team in points (291.0) and points per set (2.97) and had the third-most kills for the Tigers with 229 on the year. McGrath has scored 466.5 career points during her time with the Tigers, the highest on the team, and will look to continue to lead the team in the upcoming season. Other returnees from 2023 include Audrey Armbruster, Sophie Catalano, McKenna Gildon, Ava Hewitt, Katie Hurta, Becca Micelle, Mia Moore, Maggie Patterson, Katherine Sandt, Caroline Sele and Kate Simington.
Thanks to the recruiting efforts of Simpson Kirr, associate head coach Taylor Unroe and assistant coaches Dan O’Keefe and Quinn Lukens, the Tigers were able to add seven new recruits to their roster. Graduate Indigo Young brings a wealth of experience from her four years at Charleston Southern. The middle attacker played in 334 sets and appeared in 88 games before transferring to Clemson. During her career, she averaged 2.04 kills per set. The Kennesaw, Georgia native led the Big South in slugging percentage for two consecutive years with .371 (2022) and .386 (2023), earning multiple awards for doing so. Her accomplishments include being named to the Big South All-Freshman Team and Big South All-Second Team in 2022, being named Big South Player of the Week twice, being named team captain for Charleston Southern in 2023, and being named to the 2023 All-Academic Team.
Rounding out the pair of transfers is sophomore middle blocker Kate Hansen. The Weatherford, Texas native played and started all 21 of her games for Texas Tech and was a force on defense during her time as a Lady Raider. She led all Power 5 freshmen, ranked 36th nationally and was among the top three players in the Big 12 with 1.27 blocks per set. Hansen also ranked second in the Big 12 with 20 solo blocks, had a team-best 99 blocks for the Lady Raiders and secured a career-high 11 blocks during her collegiate debut against Houston Christian.
Five newcomers are among the Tigers’ No. 38. Among the five freshmen are two international student-athletes, Lejla Sara Hadžiredžepović and Neea-Maria Joki. Hadžiredžepović, a pin attacker from Reykjavik, Iceland, is a member of the Icelandic national team and was named the tournament’s Dream Team Opposite (NEVZA) in 2021 and the tournament’s Dream Team Outside and MVP (NEVZA) in 2022, both with the U17 national team. Joki, another pin attacker from Tampere, Finland, finished her high school career with similar accolades, being named to the Dream Team (NEVZA) every year of the tournament and winning the NEVZA Northern European Championships four years in a row from 2019-2022.
A trio of homegrown players round out the Tigers’ freshman class. Taylor Bahnub, a middle attacker from Dublin, Ohio, had a stellar high school career before signing with Clemson. Bahnub was named to an All-Conference team twice, her All-District team twice, Second Team All-State in 2023, Conference Player of the Year in 2023, Team Captain and Team MVP in 2023, and Team Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. Claire Luoma, a libero from Franklin, Wisconsin, has been invited to practice 10 times as part of the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program (NTDP), voted the best libero in Wisconsin by Prep Dig for the class of 2024, and ranked in the top 10 liberos nationally by Prep Dig. She was also selected to the All-Conference team three times and was named the 2023 All-Conference Player of the Year and Second Team All-State in 2023. Addi Rains is a libero from Yorktown, Indiana. Rains was named to the 2021–22 AVCA All-America Watch List and the 2021–22 AVCA Phenom Watch List, was a member of the JVA Watch List from 2021-2023, and is a member of the USA Volleyball NTDP.
The 2024 season will be the first in the newly renovated Jervey after extensive renovations were completed in the gymnasium. Construction and renovation began after the final home game of 2023 and affected 1,300 square feet of space. Improvements in Jervey included raising the roof 12 feet and replacing the gymnasium’s flooring, seating, audio and video systems, scoreboard and video wall. A modernized lobby with upgraded amenities and the addition of a premium ACEs Club Lounge overlooking the court (scheduled to open in 2025) are also among the improvements for an enhanced fan experience. In addition to these fan-focused improvements, there are also athlete-focused improvements. The new volleyball suite houses a new locker room, meeting area, lounge and other student-athlete amenities to enhance athlete performance.
During the renovations to the Jervey Gym, the volleyball staff started a fundraising campaign called ACEs Club. Advancing Clemson Excellence, or ACEs, allows fans to get behind Clemson volleyball and show their support in the pursuit of success. In 2024, ACEs Club members will have the opportunity to receive early access to the gym to secure their back-back seats and do serve and pass warm-ups with the Tigers. Additional benefits depend on the donation level of an ACEs Club member. Fans interested in learning more and joining the fundraising initiative can visit IPTAYCUAD.com/Clemson-VB-ACEs, email [email protected] or call 1-800-CLEMSON (1-800-253-6766) today.
