Box Score Video Highlights of final 2 minutes of the fifth set

(CLARION, PA) -- The Clarion University volleyball team won its 27th game of the season Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-2 over California (Pa.) inside a raucous Tippin Gymnasium.  With the win, Clarion moves into a tie with Cal for the top spot in the PSAC West with five games remaining.  The match was part of the team's Breast Cancer Awareness Weekend where donations were taken and T-Shirts were sold to benefit the Clarion Hospital Cancer Center.

"We were pretty strong today," said 7th year Clarion head coach Jennifer Mills.  "We dug balls, we were more disciplined, and we were absolutely more aggressive on swing, and it made the difference" 

Down 17-16 in the fifth and final set and on the brink of just the third loss of the season, Clarion (27-2, 16-1 PSAC) scored the final three points of the match thanks to a pair of Hannah Heeter kills and a hitting error by the Vulcans (23-5, 16-1 PSAC), eventually taking the set 19-17, clinching a 3-2 win over the PSAC West leaders. 

Emily Stewart led both teams with 28 kills, adding 19 digs and two blocks for the Golden Eagles.  Heeter would come up with her 16th and 17th kills in crunch time, and had six digs and four blocks.  Carlie Bieranowski finished with 19 kills, 18 digs and two blocks while Kelly Shannon added seven kills and three blocks.

Junior setter Laura Subject amassed an astonishing 68 assists for Clarion, just one shy of her career-high of 69 set earlier this year against Mercyhurst.  The defense was led by Morgan Seybold, who tallied 34 digs. 

Clarion stormed out of the gate to take a 7-0 lead in the first set, but Cal would not be denied as they went on an 11-5 run of their own to pull within one at 12-11.  Clarion would take a 23-19 lead before Cal would tie the game at 24 on a Laurel Miller kill.  Clarion wouldn't be phased however as they scored the final two points and took the first set 26-24. 

Clarion once again got out to early leads in sets two and three, 4-1 and 5-1, but the Vulcans would fight back to eventually take both sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-22. 

Down 2-1, Clarion was forced to battle with Cal, again taking an early 4-1 lead.  Clarion would not relinquish that lead however, and would go on to win 25-20 to tie the match at two games apiece, before winning the match in the fifth set. 

"Especially down the stretch, the difference between the first time we played them and this time was that we froze up last time.  We kept our aggressiveness and that made the difference," said Mills. 

Laurel Miller led Cal with 25 kills and 21 digs, while Mary Lavery tallied 12 kills and seven digs.  Freshman setter Kristen Scurpa had 55 assists to lead the Vulcans. 

Clarion avenged an Oct. 4 3-2 loss against the Vulcans, the only such loss for the Golden Eagles in the PSAC this season.   With five games remaining, Clarion must win out and hope the Vulcans can trip up to be the PSAC West regular season champions.  If both teams win out, they will share the regular season crown and tiebreakers will come into play to determine seeding during the PSAC tournament.