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Personal: Full name is Clara LaRue Simmons...Daughter of Rusty and Tammy LaRue...Father played football and basketball at Wake Forest before playing in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors, winning an NBA Championship with the Bulls in 1998...Wants to pursue a degree in psychology.
Career Honors
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2022 CAA All-Rookie Team
Career Highs (through Nov. 16, 2024)
Kills: -- 15 vs. William & Mary | Sept. 25, 2022
Assists: -- 3 vs. Georgia State | Sept. 1, 2023
Digs: -- 11, 3x - Last vs. William & Mary | Nov. 9, 2024
Blocks: -- 2, 5x - Last vs. William & Mary | Nov. 9, 2024
Aces: -- 2 vs. North Carolina A&T | Nov. 3, 2024
2024: Appeared in 23 matches, making eight starts with 74 sets played…Finished the season with totals of 147 points (1.99/set), 131 kills (1.77/set), 79 digs (1.55/set), nine blocks, and nine service aces…Reached double-figure kills in six matches…Recorded a season-best 34.5 percent hitting percentage with 11 kills against ETSU…Tallied a season-high eight digs in the team’s win over UNCW…Set a new career-high in aces with two and a season-high 14 kills against William & Mary. Recorded back-to-back double-doubles against North Carolina A&T and William & Mary.
2023: Made seven starts in 23 matches and played 63 sets…She totaled 106 kills, 52 digs, eight blocks and two aces…Recorded a season-high 13 kills in two contests against Wofford and North Carolina A&T…Notched a career-high six digs on two occasions…Tied her career-high in blocks with two against North Carolina A&T and Northeastern.
2022: Finished her freshman season with 110 kills (2.00/set), 32 digs, 10 blocks and four service aces in 21 matches (two starts) and 55 sets...Reached double-digit kills in five contests...Made her college debut against High Point at the VCU Invitational, registering two attacks...Posted her first career kill against North Carolina A&T during Elon's CAA opener, finishing with four in the team's five-set win...Achieved double-digit kills for the first time in her career with 10 in a four-set win against North Carolina A&T on Sept. 18...Racked up 10 kills against William & Mary on Sept. 24 and a season-best 15 against the Tribe on Sept. 25...Tallied 14 kills on a season-high 44 attacks against Northeastern...Hit a season-best .542 with 14 kills on 24 attacks in a win over Hampton...Had nine kills and five digs in a straight sets win against Stony Brook.
High School: A team captain at West Forsyth High School, LaRue earned All-Conference honors in all four years, to include All-Region nods in 2020 and 2021...Was named West Forsyth Impact Player of the Year in 2018-19, was tabbed her school's Offensive Player of the Year the following season and finished with 28 kills in a playoff match at the 2021-22 NCHSAA Volleyball State Championships...Off the court, Clara was the Features Editor for her school's student news site, The Zephyr...She played club at Twin City Volleyball Academy under coach Amber Brandon and also played beach volleyball, where she went undefeated in the regular season as a junior and won the 2021 Triad Beach Volleyball Conference Tournament final.
Quoting Coach Tendler: "Even though Clara has played up almost every year, she has been a standout on each team. She is a very competitive player and understands that winning doesn't just happen in matches; she is willing to put the hard work in each and every day and has already seen it pay off. Clara can bring the heat with her swing, but also has a nice touch on the ball. We expect her to draw on her experience at both the left and right side to make our pin position more competitive."
