INDIANA, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team came back to win the final two sets on the road, earning a hard-fought 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-7) victory over IUP on Tuesday night.  The Golden Eagles (11-8, 5-2 PSAC) recorded their first win over a PSAC Southwest opponent on the season.
 
Setter Leah Vensel had a strong match, recording a double-double with 44 assists and 16 digs against the Crimson Hawks.  Marissa Robertson and Catherine Ferragonio contributed to a strong defensive effort, recording 22 and 20 digs respectively as Clarion finished with 90 as a team.  The Golden Eagles had the edge in total team blocks with 10.0 on the night; Lauryn Driscoll factored in on six blocks while Olivia Olson and Mackenzie Biggs had four and three, respectively.
 
Offensively, Taylor Braunagel continued her recent surge with 18 kills and a .275 hitting percentage, while Mackenzie Biggs added 15 kills and a .351 hitting percentage.
 
Some of the biggest moments of the match came in the fourth set, with Clarion breaking a late tie and pulling away to win and force a decisive fifth set.  The Crimson Hawks scored four straight points to tie the set at 20-20, but Driscoll bounced a kill to break the deadlock.  Driscoll added two more kills to eventually make it 24-22, and a service error by IUP's Natalie Cignetti gave Clarion the set win and the momentum.
 
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fifth set, with Braunagel punctuating the early run with an ace.  Driscoll and Biggs blocked Alexis Anderson to make it 10-5, and the pairing of Braunagel and Olson forced match point with a block of Cignetti.  Braunagel sealed the match win with a kill, taking a set from Vensel and putting it away for the win.
 
Clarion survived a close first set, with a pair of late attack errors by the Crimson Hawks putting Clarion ahead 25-22.  IUP controlled each of the next two sets, winning by 12 and eight points respectively, but the Golden Eagles rebounded to take the final two sets.