HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team raced out to a big lead but was unable to hold on, as the Golden Eagles lost to Juniata 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 15-17) at Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday.  Clarion (12-5) will return to PSAC action this weekend when they play Gannon and Mercyhurst on the road.
 
The Golden Eagles won the first two sets against Juniata, but the attack of the other Eagles proved to be too much.  Juniata hit .500 in the second set and outhit Clarion in each of the last two sets to take the win.
 
Taylor Braunagel had a team-high 17 kills on 43 attempts with just three errors for a .326 hitting percentage on the night.  Olivia Olson was also efficient on the offensive side, notching 13 kills and a .360 hitting percentage while also adding a match-high five blocks.  Julia Holden, who earlier in the day was named the PSAC Southwest Co-Athlete of the Week, added 11 kills.
 
The first set was much closer than the final score indicated, with the score just 16-15 in favor of Clarion midway through the game.  That led to a 7-0 run for the Golden Eagles, though, with Braunagel making it 21-15 with a kill and Olson wrapping up the rally with one as well.  Braunagel finished off the set with a kill to force set point and a service ace to claim it, making it 25-16.  The second set was close as well, with the Golden Eagles' advantage just 22-21 late in the game.  Lauryn Driscoll forced set point with a kill, and Braunagel finished it off with a kill at 25-22.
 
Juniata responded in the third, though, taking a 17-12 lead at one point and holding an advantage as great as eight points after a service ace by Katie Thomas.  Megan Moroney notched the set point kill to give her team their first set win of the night. Tatum Poirier finished off the fourth set with a kill, and a pair of Clarion attack errors at the end of the fifth set ultimately led to the Juniata win.