Box Score


CALIFORNIA – Clarion twice battled back from one-set deficits before falling short in the fifth set in a 3-2 loss to Lock Haven in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament Thursday afternoon at California's Hamer Hall.
 
The Golden Eagles (19-13), making their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their eighth in the past 10 years, dropped the first set 25-20 before battling back to tie the match at one with a 25-21 win in the second set. Lock Haven (21-9) then won the third set 25-21 before Clarion once again battled back to tie the match at 2-2 thanks to a 25-22 win in the fourth set. But the Lady Eagles of Lock Haven scored the first six points of the decisive fifth set on their way to a 15-5 set win that gave them the match.  
 
“I knew it was going to be a tight match, and it was,” Clarion's fifth-year head coach Jennifer Mills said. “The difference was we really struggled on serve receive, which doesn't happen to us a lot. We couldn't get it going, and it forced us into giving up too many free balls. Honestly, I think that was the difference.”
 
The loss wraps up the storied careers of five Golden Eagle seniors who took the program to new heights. Libero Rhianon Brady, outside hitter Kellie Bartman, setter Amanda Gough, outside hitter Kaitlyn Anderson and defensive specialist Kayla Rodak helped Clarion to three PSAC and NCAA playoff appearances and 93 wins in four years including a school-record 32 wins (32-5) in 2010. The 2010 squad became the first in school history to make it to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight while winning the school's first NCAA Division II Atlantic Region title, the second PSAC title and first PSAC West title.
 
“After the match, we talked about what our seniors meant to the program,” Mills said. “They not only had great careers, but they also played in integral part in building the program. They leave a legacy that no one has ever left on this program.”   
 
Bartman, a 2010 Honorable Mention All-American and the Atlantic Region and PSAC West Player of the Year who won three All-Region and three All-PSAC West honors in her career, led the Golden Eagles Thursday with 15 kills while adding six digs and three blocks.
 
Anderson, an All-PSAC West first-team selection this season, added 10 kills, six digs and two blocks, while Brady, the first player in school history with four All-Region honors and the inaugural PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year this season, added 20 digs.
 
Gough, an Honorable Mention All-Region performer in 2010 and a three-time All-PSAC West selection, had 38 set assists, eight digs, three kills, two blocks and two service aces, and Rodak added four digs.
 
Also for Clarion Thursday, junior middle hitter Rebecca Webb had nine kills and three blocks with sophomore middle hitter Corinne Manley adding six kills, seven blocks and one dig.
 
Gao Xuan led Lock Haven with 17 kills, 14 digs and three service aces and was one of four Lady Eagles in double digits in kills. Bailey Farthing chipped in 15 kills, four digs and four blocks, Hayley Gribler had 13 kills and nine digs and Grace Novacek added 11 kills and two blocks.
 
Erin Walsh paced the Lock Haven defense with 17 digs with Bethany Burns adding 11 digs. Alexa Garrity ran the offense with 52 set assists.
 
The first set was tight throughout before Lock Haven closed the set with a 10-2 run to erase an 18-15 Clarion lead and get the 25-20 victory.
 
The Golden Eagles bounced back in the second set using an 11-3 run that featured a pair of kills each by Bartman and Webb to jump ahead 20-14 on their way to the 25-21 win.
 
It was Lock Haven's turn to run again in the third set, as an 8-1 spurt helped the Lady Eagles build a one-point advantage, 16-15, into a 24-16 lead on their way to the 25-21 win.
 
Clarion trailed 21-20 in the fourth set before going on a set-ending 5-1 run that ended on a Lock Haven attack error out of bounds that gave the Golden Eagles the 25-22 victory that forced the fifth set.
 
But in set No. 5, Lock Haven used the 6-0 run at the start to take control, and Clarion never recovered losing 15-5.  
 
“The season may not have ended the way we would have liked, but it was still a successful season,” Mills said.