CLARION, Pa. - The Clarion volleyball team dropped it's first home conference match of the season Friday night, falling to the Gannon Golden Knights by a score of 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 26-24, 25-17) in a PSAC match at Tippin Gymnasium.  Clarion (9-8, 3-2 PSAC) will return to action Saturday, October 8^th as they play host to Mercyhurst.
Taylor Braunagel led the Golden Eagles with a team-high 16 kills on 52 swings, committing five errors for a .212 hitting percentage.  Sophomore Lauryn Driscoll also recorded double-digit kills with 11, while Marissa Robertson and Catherine Ferragonio combined for 37 digs on the night.

The Eagles found themselves down 2-0, but fought their way back to win a tightly contested third set by a score of 26-24 thanks to a pair of big kills from Driscoll and Olivia Olson late in the frame to put Clarion within striking distance.

The Golden Eagles came out firing in set four, racing out to a 5-1 lead early, thanks in part to a trio of attack errors by Gannon as well as a pair of big kills from Braunagel and Olson.  The Golden Knights clawed back to within a point midway through the fourth set, with both teams trading off kills back and forth until the squads found each other tied at 12 points a piece. 

Robertson's five digs were instrumental in keeping Clarion right in the thick of things, as the Eagles rallied to within one point three separate times in the final half of the frame.  However Gannon would pull ahead to edge the Golden Eagles 25-17 in the fourth set, giving them a 3-1 victory.