SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit for an exciting win on the road on Tuesday, defeating Slippery Rock 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-7) at Morrow Field House.  The Golden Eagles (12-7, 4-3 PSAC) will continue their five-match road stretch this weekend with a trip to Millersville and West Chester.
 
The difference came in the third and fourth sets as the Clarion offense came alive, hitting .302 and .300 in those games to tie the match score against The Rock after falling behind 2-0.  A series of Slippery Rock errors in the fifth set helped buoy the Golden Eagle attack as Clarion set out to a 10-3 advantage, and then essentially traded points the rest of the way en route to the victory.  Slippery Rock enjoyed the advantage in team blocks but the Golden Eagles had the edge in kills.
 
Three different Golden Eagles went off for big offensive nights, paced by Julia Holden's 26 kills and .279 hitting percentage.  The Clarion middles made major contributions as well; Lauren Aichinger notched 14 kills and hit .571, committing just two errors on 21 swings, while Holly Pittman had 16 kills.  Chrissy Cotton had a match-high 24 digs and Alexa Cundy recorded 60 assists and 11 digs.
 
Clarion dropped the first two sets to the Rock and were on the brink in the third, but a furious rally in the third set the stage for the match win.  Slippery Rock led 21-18 after a kill by Abigail Zoeller, but a pair of Rock errors sandwiched a kill by Pittman and all of a sudden the set was tied at 21.  The Rock built their lead back up to 24-22 and had a match point before Holden recorded a kill, and the duo of Cundy and Aichinger blocked Kaley Fucci to keep the set alive.  Holden pounded the last two kills of the set to take the 26-24 win and keep the Golden Eagles' hopes alive.
 
The Golden Eagles built an early lead in the fourth set on the strength of a 6-0 run, making it 11-4 on an ace from Holden.  Slippery Rock pulled tighter and in fact tied the set at 18 on a kill by Fuccie, but Clarion responded with four straight points, starting with a kill by Aichinger and ending on one from Pittman.  Aubrey Wrona forced set point and delivered it two points later with kills, forcing a decisive fifth set against the Rock.  Clarion set out on a 6-1 run in the fifth, punctuated on a kill by Holden, and increased the lead to 10-3 with the same.  The Rock pulled to within 12-7 before three straight points by Clarion, including a kill by Cundy and an ace by Wrona to make it 14-7.  An error by Koeller on match point sealed the fate of the Rock.