CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team ran into one of their most difficult opponents of the season on Friday evening, dropping a 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-21) decision to Shepherd at the Student Recreation Center.  The Golden Eagles will look to rebound tomorrow afternoon when they host Shippensburg.
 
Clarion (11-6, 3-2 PSAC) struggled against the talented block of the Rams, hitting just .011 over three sets as Shepherd recorded 11.0 team blocks.  Julia Holden had a team-high seven kills, followed by six from Lydia Leiner and four from Lauren Aichinger.  Ashley Poling had a team-high eight digs while Chrissy Cotton added seven and Aubrey Wrona six digs.
 
The most competitive set of the night was the third, where the Golden Eagles held tight with the Rams and nearly extended the match to a fourth set.  Shepherd held a solid lead but Clarion responded with a 5-1 run to pull within 18-15, including a service ace from Holly Pittman.  Alexa Cundy pulled Clarion to within 21-18 with a service ace of her own, glancing one off Cambriea Hill to cut the lead down, and Leiner recorded a kill to keep the match alive at 24-21.  The Rams returned fire with a kill on match point, with Peyton Lindblad finishing off the set and the match.
 
The Rams came out firing in all three sets, starting the match on a 9-2 run and carrying the advantage from there.  The lead reached double-digits in the first set on a kill from Georgia Ohmke and finished as a 14-point win as a result of back-to-back errors by the Golden Eagles that made it 25-11.  A 6-0 run by Shepherd in the second set opened another double-digit lead, this one making it 18-6 midway through the game en route to the win.