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CLARION, Pa. – It will be a familiar opponent for the Clarion University women's volleyball team when it opens NCAA Division II Tournament play at 5 p.m. Thursday against Lock Haven in Wheeling, W. Va.
 
The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles and fifth-seeded Lady Eagles will be meeting for the fifth time in the last two years including for the third time in a postseason match. It is a rematch of last year's opening round NCAA Tournament won by Lock Haven 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-5).
 
“For me, obviously, and for the girls, hopefully, there should be some motivation based on last year,” Clarion's sixth-year head coach Jennifer Mills, the winningest coach in school history with 144 wins, said. “At the same time, there should be motivation to beat anyone you are playing at this time of year.”
 
The teams also met in the 2011 PSAC semifinals with Lock Haven prevailing 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-23, 15-12) in that one as well before Clarion knocked off the Lady Eagles 3-2 (12-25, 28-26, 25-13, 17-25, 15-12) Oct. 5 at Tippin Gym.
 
“It's been a strong battle the last three times we played them,” Mills said. “We are both highly competitive teams. They have made some lineup changes since we played them earlier in the year that has been a big help for them offensively. They are going to be a lot better than when we played them the first time this year.”
 
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, neither team has played in two weeks.
 
Lock Haven (26-10) had momentum going into the break having won 14 of 15 while taking second at the PSAC Tournament, while Clarion (23-11) dropped five of its final six matches including a 3-1 loss to California (Pa.) in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament.
 
“I'm hoping the break helps us,” Mills said. “Even our practice Sunday was better than where we left off. I'm hoping the time off and a break away from each other and the coaches and being away from school allowed them to relax and find a new-found desire within the training.”
 
Star power is evident for both teams with Clarion featuring three AVCA All-Atlantic Region players (middle hitter Rebecca Webb, setter Laura Subject and opposite hitter Hannah Heeter) ad Lock Haven four AVCA All-Region performers (outside hitter Gao Xuan, middle hitter Bailey Farthing, setter Alexa Garrity and Libero Erin Walsh).
 
Webb leads Clarion with 300 kills and ranks second in the PSAC in hitting percentage at .321 (300 kills, 70 errors, 716 attempts). She is also the team leader with 106 blocks (0.89) and was a first-team All-PSAC West selection. Webb had a match-high 19 kills to go with four blocks in the Oct. 5 win over Lock Haven after recording nine kills and three blocks in last year's NCAA playoff match.
 
“Rebecca has very good volleyball IQ,” Mills said. “She has had very few matches where she hasn't found a way to beat the defense. She plays with intelligence and makes some really good decisions on the court, and Laura is doing a really nice job of finding her and Hannah is doing a good job of pulling blockers from her.”
 
Subject, also a first-team All-PSAC West choice, is third in the PSAC with 9.52 set assists per set while also ranking third in the conference with 0.45 aces per set. She is second on the team with 283 digs (2.50 per set). The first-year starting setter for the Golden Eagles had 40 set assists, 10 service aces and 14 digs in the win over the Lady Eagles Oct. 5.  
 
“She does a really good job of communications with our hitters,” Mills said. “She is a very upbeat, positive player on the court, and I think that drastically impacts how our players play. She also hustles all the time. She finds a way to be involved, even on defense.”
 
Heeter, a second-team All-PSAC West choice, ranks third on the team with 263 kills (2.23 per set) while hitting .253 (263-105-624) and adding 95 blocks (0.81 per set) and 85 digs (0.72 per set). She had eight kills and three blocks in the Oct. 5 match.
 
“Hannah has become a more versatile hitter, a more well-rounded volleyball player,” Mills said. “She has also started to vary her shots. With her athletic ability she should be bale to beat blocks and go over blocks, and she is being more efficient in doing those things.”
 
Additional key players for the Golden Eagles include outside Emily Stewart (2.63 kills per set, 2.14 digs per set) and Carlie Bieranowski (2.27 kills per set, 2.18 digs per set), middle hitter Corinne Manley (1.38 kills per set, 0.89 blocks per set), Libero Rebecca Ferragonio (5.01 digs per set – ranks 3^rd in the PSAC) and defensive specialist Morgan Seybold (1.61 digs per set). Bieranowski had 11 kills and 18 digs in the win over Lock Haven Oct. 5.
 
“Ball control will be important for us in this match,” Mills said. “And our outsides need to be more productive. We know if we can put everyone's good game on the court, we will be really hard to beat. They need to do it together as a group.” 
 
Xuan is the unquestioned leader for Lock Haven. The only athlete in PSAC history to earn four PSAC Athlete of the Year awards (in her case PSAC East), Xuan ranks third in the PSAC in both hitting percentage (.314; 475-136-1,079) and kills (3.77 per set) while ranking sixth in service aces per set (0.55). She had 17 kills,  10 digs and three blocks in the Oct. 5 match and recorded 17 kills, 13 digs in the 2011 NCAA Tournament match.
 
“Honestly, we need to keep Lock Haven out of system,” Mills said. “We need to serve well, and we need to convert. The game of serve and pass will be crucial. Ball control and keeping them out of system is key to most matches and in limiting players like Xuan.”
 
Xuan, though, isn't the only offensive weapon for the Lady Eagles.
 
Farthing, a first-team PSAC East choice, ranks fourth in the conference in hitting at .306 (311-97-700) and fifth in blocks (1.02 per set). She had 11 kills, seven digs and six blocks in the Oct. 5 match after recording 15 kills and four blocks in last year's NCAA match.
Middle hitter Grace Novacek, a second-team PSAC East choice, is another strong hitter for Lock Haven ranking eighth in the PSAC in hitting at .278 (262-79-658), while Garrity is the conference's top setter at 10.48 set assists per set and was a first-team PSAC East selection.
 
Defensively, Walsh was the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team PSAC East choice while ranking second in the PSAC in digs per set (5.04).
 
“Their middles are tough,” Mills said. “They are a real physical team. The changes they have made have helped them and made them a little better rounded as a team. We have to keep them out of system.”
 
NOTES – The winner of Thursday's match plays the winner the match between eighth seeded Fayetteville St. and top-seeded Wheeling Jesuit at 7:30 p.m. Friday with the Regional Championship match set for 7 p.m. Saturday. All matches are at Wheeling Jesuit … Clarion won the 2010 Atlantic Region championship and became the first team in school history to advance to the Division II volleyball Elite Eight … The Golden Eagles are 6-4 vs. Lock Haven in the last 10 matches between the teams but 14-38 all-time vs. the Lady Eagles including 0-4 in postseason play. In addition to the two postseason wins by Lock Haven last year, the Lady Eagles knocked off Clarion 3-0 in the 2009 PSAC semifinals and 3-0 in a 1997 PSAC play-in match.