WHEELING, W.Va. – The Clarion volleyball team scrapped to the very end, putting together a close third set on the road, but the Golden Eagles saw their successful 2015 season end as Wheeling Jesuit defeated them 3-0 (14-25, 16-25, 21-25) in the second round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.
Clarion (22-17) gave their formidable opponent everything they could handle in the third set but weren't quite able to get over the hump, battling through the set but ultimately falling.
Mackenzie Biggs had a match-high 12 kills on 25 attempts, committing just three errors to finish with a .360 hitting percentage.
Taylor Braunagel added eight kills as well. Senior
Morgan Seybold tied for the match-high with 14 digs in her final match in a Clarion uniform.
The best starting effort for the Golden Eagles came in the third set, when they bounced back from a 3-1 deficit to post a 5-0 run against the Cardinals. Biggs took on a lot of the work for Clarion early in the set, recording two kills and teaming with
Abbey Cox for a block in that long run. She added another kill that put her team ahead 7-5 in the set.
Jocelyn Uchic hit a high-hands kill to make it 8-5 but the Cardinals scored six straight to take an 11-8 advantage. The run turned into a 17-9 advantage for the Cardinals.
The Golden Eagles weren't finished, however.
Kaley Pittsley and
Gabrielle Olson combined to block Kayce Krucki to make it 17-11, and Biggs launched a kill from the right side to make it just a 21-15 advantage for the Cardinals. Uchic added another kill to make it 21-16 and Biggs forced the Cardinals into their first timeout of the set with a bounce on the next point. Biggs knocked another to make it 22-18 and a pair of errors by Krucki put the Golden Eagles within striking distance at 2-20. Uchic fended off elimination a few points later with a kill to make it 24-21, but Wheeling Jesuit finished off the set with a Krucki kill.
The Cardinals opened up on a solid run in the first set but the Golden Eagles rallied back, cutting Wheeling Jesuit's lead to 9-8 after a kill by Braunagel. Braunagel again cut the lead down, making it 11-9 with a kill, but the Cardinals ripped off three straight points to retake the advantage. The lead ballooned to 18-10 at one point and the Cardinals closed on a small run to take the 25-14 first set.
The Golden Eagles opened the second set on a 3-1 run, with
Kaley Pittsley notching an ace and Braunagel adding another kill to cap the run. Wheeling Jesuit jumped out to a 7-5 lead but Biggs bounced a kill on the right side to cut the advantage to just one point. The closest Clarion got the rest of the way was 12-9 after an Olson kill, but the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run to take the stark advantage in the set. Uchic cut it to six points with a roller that made it 21-15, but Wheeling Jesuit got a block on set point to take the set 25-16.
