CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team survived a tough challenge on their home court, escaping with a 3-2 (25-17, 24-26, 25-15, 21-25, 15-10) win over Slippery Rock at Tippin Gymnasium on Friday.  The Golden Eagles (15-6, 6-2 PSAC) will be back in action tomorrow when they host Edinboro at 1 p.m.
 
Both teams had their periods of dominance in the seesaw match, with Clarion controlling the first and third sets while the Rock handled business in the second and fourth sets.  That set the stage for a climactic fifth set, one in which the Golden Eagles raced out to an early lead and  fended off a charge from the Rock for the win.
 
Julia Holden had a match-high 21 kills and also added four blocks and an ace.  Taylor Braunagel was not far behind her, tacking on 19 kills.  Braunagel also went off for 20 digs to record her sixth kill/dig double-double of the year.  Leah Vensel also posted a double-double, finishing with 52 assists and 10 digs.  Catherine Ferragonio led all players with 36 digs.
 
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 9-3 lead to open the fifth set, forcing The Rock to burn on of their timeouts little more than halfway into the game.  Holden made it 7-3 with back-to-back kills, and a ball-handling error by Slippery Rock flipped the court with Clarion in control.  Aubry Ohlson pounded a kill to make it 11-4 but the Rock cut the lead to just four points, making it 12-8 after an error by Holden.  Lauryn Driscoll posted kills to make it 13-8 and 14-9, and eventually a Slippery Rock error gave Clarion the 15-10 win.
 
The first set saw Clarion jump out to an early advantage but The Rock immediately battled back, rallying from a 7-2 deficit to take an 8-7 lead.  Holden broke a 10-10 tie with a kill, and eventually the Golden Eagles stretched the lead to 21-14 on a blast by Ohlson.  Holden posted the final two kills of the set to wrap it up, giving Clarion a 25-17 first set win.
 
Slippery Rock countered with a close 26-24 win in the second, but the Golden Eagles were unfazed.  They overcame an early 9-7 deficit in the third set to build an 11-10 advantage thanks to a block from Holden and Driscoll.  That was part of a 7-0 run that put Clarion in the driver's seat, with Holden closing the rally with a kill at 15-10. Driscoll and Holden combined for a block of Kelsey Boyle on set point as well, making it 25-15.  It was The Rock's turn to turn up the defense in the fourth set, though, as Slippery Rock recorded 7.0 team blocks en route to a 25-21 win.