Clarion postseason history / Digital NCAA D-II To. Program

CALIFORNIA, Pa. – A year after making it to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, the Clarion University women's volleyball team is set for another NCAA playoff run when it starts the tournament at noon Thursday against a familiar foe in Lock Haven at California University of Pennsylvania's Hamer Hall.
 
For those unable to make the match, it will be available through on-line video at www.clariongoldeneagles.com.
 
It's the eighth time in the past 10 years the Golden Eagles (19-12), who won their first Atlantic Region title last year, have reached the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
“It shows a consistency within the program,” Clarion's fifth-year head coach Jennifer Mills, who has guided the Golden Eagles to four NCAA Tournament bids, said. “It's a lot of hard work by the players, and it shows an ability to bring in good players.”
 
Clarion's first-round opponent, Lock Haven (20-9) is very familiar to the third-seeded Golden Eagles. This will be Clarion's third match against the Lady Eagles, who are seeded sixth, this year and its second in a row. Lock Haven topped Clarion 3-2 Friday in the PSAC semifinals at Lock Haven. Clarion led 2-0 in the match before the Lady Eagles rallied for the win. The teams also met in mid-October at Millersville with Clarion coming away with a 3-0 win.
 
“Lock Haven is tough,” Mills said. “We saw that last week when we were up 2-0 and it ended up going five. We need to dig a little deeper so we don't get to the point where we are as fatigued.”
 
Mills said it's hard to face the same team again so soon, but that there's also a familiarity that comes from playing a team so often.
 
 “We know who we need to stop,” Mills said. “Hopefully, we fix a couple of the little things that went wrong during last weekend. We know what we need to clean up, some better set decision and the defense for sure. Those are the things we've been gearing towards in practice. The girls understand what went wrong, and we've been trying to get to the bottom of a few different things and work on them. Hopefully, we will see that those things are definitely better.”
 
Clarion is led by a pair of freshly minted first-team Daktronics All-Region players in senior Libero Rhianon Brady and senior outside hitter Kellie Bartman.
 
Brady leads the PSAC and ranks 13^th in the nation in digs per set with 5.89. She is Clarion's all-time leader in digs (2,662) and is the first player in school history to earn All-Region honors in four consecutive seasons. Brady had 33 digs in the semifinal contest vs. Lock Haven.
 
Bartman ranks fourth in the PSAC in kills per set (3.50) and was a 2010 Honorable Mention All-American as well as the Atlantic Region and PSAC West Player of the Year. She is second all-time at Clarion with 1,482 career kills. Bartman had a team-high 14 kills in the semifinal loss to Lock Haven.  
 
Brady and Bartman are not alone in leading the Golden Eagles.
 
Senior setter Amanda Gough is second all-time in school history in set assists with (4,160) and 13^th in digs (1,111). She ranks fourth in the PSAC this year in set assists per set (9.32) this season and had 38 set assists in the semifinals.
 
Kaitlyn Anderson, a senior outside hitter, is second on the team with 251 kills, while sophomore right-side hitter Hanna Heeter is third with 219 kills. Junior middle hitter Rebecca Webb leads the team with 77 blocks and adds 135 kills. Anderson had 12 kills vs. Lock Haven in the semifinals, while Webb had nine.  
 
Lock Haven is led by a pair of first-team All-Region players as well.
 
Junior outside hitter Gao Xuan leads the PSAC in kills per set (4.35) and is fifth in hitting percentage (.309), while sophomore setter Alexa Garrity is the PSAC leader in set assists per set at 10.30. Haley Gribler (2.55 kps) and Bailey Farthing (2.19 kps) are also key players for the Lady Eagles. Xuan had a match-high 19 kills in the semifinal game last week, while Gribler added 14 and Farthing 12. Garrity set the offense with 51 assists.
 
The winner of Thursday's match will take on the winner of the (7) Slippery Rock vs. (2) Wheeling Jesuit match at 5 p.m. Friday at California. The Golden Eagles have faced both teams this year splitting a pair of matches with Slippery Rock and losing at Wheeling Jesuit.
 
“We are taking it one game at a time,” Mills said. “The biggest thing for us is taking it one team at a time and not looking ahead.”
 
The Atlantic Region championship match will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at California.
 
NOTES – This is the 18^th year Clarion has been in the postseason and the eighth time the Golden Eagles have qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs. Clarion is 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament including 4-6 at the regional tournament. The Golden Eagles are 4-3 under Mills in NCAA tournament play … This is the fourth postseason match between Lock Haven and Clarion with Lock Haven winning the first three, all in PSAC Tournament play … The other half of the bracket features (1) California taking on (8) St. Augustine's (N.C) and (5) Edinboro facing (4) Gannon.