HILLSDALE, Mich. – The Clarion volleyball team wrapped its impressive weekend with a tight loss to a nationally-ranked program, as the Golden Eagles fell 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 19-25, 15-25) to the 19^th-ranked Hillsdale Chargers on Saturday.  The Golden Eagles (5-3) will wrap their preseason tournament schedule next weekend when they head to Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty.
 
Julia Holden went off for a match-high 20 kills doing so with just six errors for a solid .241 hitting percentage.  Lydia Leiner added nine kills of her own, and Alexa Cundy dished out 39 assists. Holden also dished out a team-high five blocks while Chrissy Cotton posted a match-high 23 digs.
 
The Chargers opened up a 20-12 lead in the first set, but the Golden Eagles responded with four straight points to force a timeout.  Leiner and Aubrey Wrona recorded back-to-back kills to get the run started, and Cotton aced Madie Schider on the next point to put the Chargers on the defensive.  Wrona notched another kill to finally force Hillsdale into a timeout, and the Golden Eagles scored two of the next three points to pull within 21-18.  The Chargers took hold from there, taking the 25-19 win.
 
The second set was a complete flip though, as Clarion turned a 9-9 tie into a 21-13 rout in the blink of an eye.  Holly Pittman aced Emily Lachmann to bump the lead to 18-13, and she dropped another ace in at 21-13 to put the set out of reach.  Lauren Aichinger notched a kill to make it 23-14 and then combined with Holden for a block on set point, rejecting Maggie DePorre for the 25-14 win.
 
The third set was close at times, but Hillsdale pulled away late and recorded the set win with a 25-19 victory. They opened a big lead in the fourth as well, taking the 25-15 win.