ERIE, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team won its third straight conference match, sweeping Mercyhurst 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-16) on Friday night.  The Golden Eagles (13-5, 4-1 PSAC) will try to sweep their second straight week of PSAC action when they face Gannon tomorrow.
 
The offense was humming on Friday night, with Clarion hitting .295 as a team to overpower the Lakers on their home court.  Inversely, Mercyhurst hit just .036 on the night, in part because of 7.0 total team blocks by the Golden Eagles.
 
Taylor Braunagel had a team-high 11 kills, and was flanked by Olivia Olson and Julia Holden with seven kills apiece.  Braunagel, Holden and Lauryen Driscoll all added two aces, including a key marker from Driscoll at the end of the first set.  Leah Vensel added 29 assists while Catherine Ferragonio had a match-high 12 digs.
 
Though the overall match score was lopsided, that is not to say Mercyhurst did not have their chances to threaten.  The first set was close throughout, with the Lakers holding a considerable lead and sitting on set point.  Shelby Chesko put the Lakers ahead 24-21 with a kill, but a service error by Hannah Vuylsteke on the next point gave Clarion some life.  Driscoll and Olson cut the lead to 24-23 with a block of Alyssa Zirnheld, and the duo combined again on the next point to tie the score at 24 with another block. 
 
The Lakers took a 25-24 lead on a service error by Clarion, but Driscoll got the point right back with a kill.  The junior right side aced Vuylsteke to give the Golden Eagles a set point, and an attack error by Tess Ganich gave Clarion the 27-25 win in the first set.
 
Neither of the final two sets contained any of that same drama, as Clarion pulled away in both to secure the win.  The deficit in the second set was just 12-11 in favor of the Golden Eagles before a 9-1 run put the Lakers in a deep hole.  Olson won the race to 15 with a kill at 15-11, forcing a Mercyhurst timeout, and Olson bounced another to make it 20-12.  She closed out the big run with a kill at 21-12.  Kaitlyn Glaser finished off set point with a solo block of Leah Kern.
 
Clarion led 11-9 in the third before taking off, with Glaser making it 15-11 with a kill.  Braunagel smashed a kill at 19-14 and Olson recorded back-to-back solo blocks to give Clarion a 22-14 advantage.  Olson finished off the match with a kill, taking a set from Vensel and smashing it for the 25-16 win.