FINDLAY, Ohio – The Clarion volleyball team got their four-match weekend off to a good start on Thursday, as the Golden Eagles won two wild first sets en route to a 3-0 (26-24, 32-30, 25-22) victory over Findlay.  Clarion (3-2) will start action at the Hillsdale Tournament on Friday, starting with Northwood at 1 p.m.
 
The first two sets were exercises in endurance, as Clarion was forced to fend off a feisty Oilers squad that forced set point in both stanzas.  The second set in particular was harrowing, as the two teams traded nearly 15 points before the Golden Eagles came out on top.  Findlay held 24-23 advantages in both of the first two sets but ultimately fell to the Golden Eagles, and Clarion pushed back on a late rally in the third to post the sweep.
 
Julia Holden ripped off 13 kills in just three sets of action and hit a respectable .226 on 31 total attempts.  Sophomore Aubrey Wrona was just behind her in total kills with 10, and setter Alexa Cundy spread the ball around for 31 total assists.  Holly Pittman led the defensive effort with six total blocks to complement her four kills, and Chrissy Cotton had 15 digs.
 
Findlay led 16-12 and 20-17 at points in the first set, but the Golden Eagles rallied to tie it up and take the late advantage.  Pittman solo blocked Emily Annesser to cut the deficit to 20-19 and Holden notched a kill on the next point to tie up the set score.  The Oilers recovered and took a 24-23 lead but Lydia Leiner tied it again on a kill, and the duo of Leiner and Lauren Aichinger blocked Rylie Pattison to completely turn the tables.  Aichiner and Leiner rejected Pattison again on set point for the 26-24 win.
 
There were late set fireworks in the second set as well, with Findlay taking a 24-23 lead on an error by Holden.  She atoned on the next point by notching a kill to tie the score, and Aichinger staved off elimination with kills that made it 25-25 and 28-28.  Leiner blasted one that tied the set at 29, and Cundy and Pittman combined for a block to hold off a loss at 30-all.  That sparked the 3-0 run the Golden Eagles needed to take the set, with Holden bouncing back-to-back kills for the 32-30 win.
 
Clarion eliminated a large deficit in the third set, coming back from 16-10 with a 10-2 run that put them ahead by a score of 20-18.  Wrona capped off the run with a kill off Abigail Schroeder's serve, and a pair of Oiler errors later in the set gave the Golden Eagles a 22-20 lead.  Leiner and Pittman combined for one more big block, swatting Pattison's attempt on match point for the sweep.