Box Score WHEELING, W. Va. – One of the most successful seasons in Clarion University volleyball history came to a close Friday evening with a 3-0 loss to California (Pa.) in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament's Atlantic Region in Wheeling, W. Va.
 
"I'm proud of our team," Clarion's seventh-year head coach Jennifer Mills said. "It was a hard-fought match. We struggled with ball control, but our defense gave us a chance. We had some really good rallies with them, they just came out on top."
 
Third-seeded Cal (30-8), which took two of three matches from the second-seeded Golden Eagles (32-5) this season, made an early statement taking the first set 25-15 before winning set two 25-22 and set three 25-20. It was the first time this season a match between Clarion and Cal that didn't go five sets.
 
"They played a strong match," Mills said. "They are healthy right now."
 
Carlie Bieranowski led Clarion with 10 kills and 16 digs. Corinne Manley and Hannah Heeter each added eight kills and three digs with Heeter also coming up with a block and Manley three while hitting .471 (8 kills, 0 errors, 17 attempts). Emily Stewart added six kills and nine digs, with Laura Subject recording 28 set assists and six digs and Morgan Seybold 18 digs.
 
"Carlie had a great game, one of her better ones of the season," Mills said. "Emily struggled, but she isn't fully healthy. She did as well as she should have been expected to do.
 
"We didn't put ball away, were hitting from the outside too much and were out of system. Staying in system would have helped us."
 
Laurel Miller led Cal, which will play the winner of the Wheeling Jesuit-Shippensburg match in the regional finals Saturday, with 17 kills and 13 digs. Molly Delaney added 12 kills and 14 digs with Mary Lavery adding eight kills. Abbey Freund had 17 set assists and 10 digs, Kristen Scuppa also had 17 set assists to go with seven digs and Samantha Rudy added 10 digs.
 
In the first set, Clarion led 8-7 following a Manley kill, but Cal used runs of 5-0 and 6-0 to build a 21-12 lead and never looked back in the set.
 
The second set saw the Vulcans jump to a 16-11 lead before a 6-0 Clarion run that started with a Heeter kills and ended with a Manley kill with four Cal errors in the middle gave the Golden Eagles a 17-16 lead.
 
But following a Cal timeout, the Vulcans scored three straight points to retake the lead 19-17, and Clarion was never closer than two the remainder of the set.
 
Cal then appeared ready to run away with the third set grabbing a 15-7 lead before an 8-2 Clarion run with Heeter and Manley each recording kills got the Golden Eagles back within two, 17-15.
 
Clarion was still within two, 22-20, before a pair of Miller kills sandwiched between a Lavery kills put the match away.
 
The loss brought a close to the Clarion careers of five seniors – Heeter, Stewart, Manley Megan Condit and Lauren Magalski. The quintet won 106 games in four years, the third most wins ever by a Golden Eagle senior class behind the 109 victories by both the 2004 and 2005 senior classes. They were also part of two of the three 30-win seasons in school history with the 32 victories this year and in 2010 being the top mark in school history. They were also members of two PSAC West title teams (2010 & 2013), the only two PSAC West titles in school history, one PSAC Championship squad (2010), one NCAA Division II Atlantic Region winning team (2010) and the only team in school history to reach the NCAA Division II Elite Eight (2010). They also made four consecutive NCAA Division II Tournaments.
 
"I can't say enough about the five of them," Mills said. "They've had a great four years here. I couldn't have asked for five better kids to coach."
 
And despite the five seniors graduating, Clarion's cupboard is hardly bare with PSAC West Athlete of the Year Subject along with Seybold, an All-Region Libero, coming back to try for a sixth-straight NCAA Tournament bid in 2014.
 
"I think we have some younger kids who are really eager for an opportunity to play," Mills said. "The younger kids know what it tastes like to win and what it tastes like not to. I know they are going to work hard in the offseason."