INDIANA, Pa. – For the second straight match the Clarion volleyball team rallied back from a first set loss, winning the final three sets to defeat the IUP Crimson Hawks 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21) on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles (14-6, 5-2 PSAC) will be back in action this weekend against Edinboro and Slippery Rock.
Senior
Marissa Robertson had one of her best matches of the season to date, notching a double-double of 18 kills and 12 digs in the victory.
Julia Holden added 15 kills while
Lauryn Driscoll had 10 kills and a .383 hitting percentage.
Olivia Olson had seven kills and six blocks.
Clarion hit -.077 in the first set but rebounded from there, hitting .235 and above in each of the remaining three sets to take the win. Conversely, after hitting .200 in the first set, IUP hit under .100 in each of the last three sets.
After dropping the first set 25-19, the Golden Eagles held on for a close game victory in the second. Clarion built up a 19-14 lead thanks to an 8-2 run, starting with a kill by Robertson and punctuated by an attack error by IUP's Kylie Osborn. The Crimson Hawks pulled to within 20-19 but the Golden Eagles held them off, with Robertson recording kills on back-to-back points to win the set.
The Golden Eagles opened the third game on a 5-2 run punctuated by a kill from
Olivia Olson, and Clarion never once relinquished the lead in the set. IUP pulled to within three points but Clarion countered, taking a 19-12 lead at one point after a block from Driscoll and
Lauren Aichinger. Robertson made it 21-14 with a kill, and Driscoll bumped the lead to 23-15 with another kill. Osborn committed an error on set point to give Clarion the set win and the 2-1 match advantage.
The fourth set was close in the early portion, with the teams tied at 11 until Holden ripped a kill to break the deadlock. That was part of a 6-0 run that closed with a block from Holden and Olson to put the Golden Eagles ahead 16-11, and Driscoll won the race to 20 with a kill to make it 20-14. Robertson once again completed the match, forcing match point with a kill and then recording the winner at 25-21.
