HILLSDALE, Mich. – The Clarion volleyball team ran their streak of consecutive set wins to 12 and their match streak to four straight, as the Golden Eagles rang up back-to-back sweeps over Northwood and Ashland at the Hillsdale Tournament on Friday.  They defeated the Timberwolves 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, 25) and the Eagles 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 26-24).  Clarion go for a fifth straight win tomorrow when they take on nationally-ranked Hillsdale.
 
Speaking of the national rankings, Ashland is in the conversation, as the Eagles entered today's contest getting 34 votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll.  Hillsdale will the first ranked opponent the Golden Eagles have faced since 21^st-ranked Gannon on Sept. 28, 2018.
 
Aubrey Wrona was the Golden Eagles' leading offensive player with 26 total kills over six sets, notching the match-high in both contests.  Chrissy Cotton had seven aces on the day, including five against the Timberwolves, and the redshirt junior libero totaled 31 digs over the course of the two matches.  Alexa Cundy had a day against the Eagles in the late match, totaling 49 assists – 16.33 assists per set – in leading the Golden Eagles to a win.
 
The win over Northwood was a dominating effort, with Clarion going off on a 15-1 run to close out the first set and take the win.  It was a tight set early on, with Grace Rekeweg pulling her team within 10-8 on a kill, but the Golden Eagles scored 15 of the next 16 points to stun the Timberwolves.  Lydia Leiner notched an ace at 24-9 to force the first set point and Wrona tacked on a kill for the set win.  A similar story played out in the second set, with Clarion turnin a small 19-17 lead into a 25-17 win on the back of a 6-0 run that saw five straight successful serves from Leiner.  Set point came on a solo block by Holly Pittman, who stuffed Rekeweg for the 25-17 win.  The third set against Northwood was never really in danger as the Golden Eagles opened up a 20-10 lead en route to a double-digit set win.
 
It was a much different story against the Eagles, as no set was decided by more than three points and both sides hit exceptionally well.  The first set was as efficient a set as any over the course of the year, as both teams were tied at 24-all at the end of the set.  Wrona bashed a kill to force Clarion's second set point and Cotton did the rest, slipping in an ace for the 26-24 win.  The Golden Eagles took the second set with a little more breathing room, with Wrona notching a kill on set point to make it 25-22 and pushing the advantage to 2-0.  Ashland held a 24-23 advantage in the third set, forcing set point on an error by Wrona, but the sophomore outside rallied to tie the score on the next point.  Pittman bashed a kill to make it 25-24 and force match point, and an error by Erin Krupar on the ensuing play gave Clarion the win.