CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team battled but dropped a pair of competitive matches on Friday afternoon, falling 3-0 to Davenport and 3-1 to Saginaw Valley State on the first full day of the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament. The Golden Eagles will wrap the weekend tomorrow when they take on Bellarmine at 1 p.m.
The Golden Eagles opened their season with a win on Thursday night, but found much stiffer resistance in the guise of their Friday opponents. Davenport won three straight sets against the Golden Eagles, though each of the three sets were very close, and the Panthers held Clarion to just a .112 team hitting percentage in the early match. Such were the first three sets against Saginaw Valley State, though the Cardinals put together a dominant fourth set to seal the win.
Julia Holden finished with 22 kills over the two matches, including a tie for the team-high with 14 kills against the Cardinals. She shared that highlight with
Aubrey Wrona, who added 14 kills and a .367 hitting percentage in the second match as well.
Lydia Leiner had the team-high with nine kills against the Panthers.
The first set against Davenport was a back-and-forth affair, with Clarion erasing an early lead from the Panthers and taking a 20-18 lead themselves at one point. Leiner put the Golden Eagles ahead 23-22 with a kill, but the Panthers responded with three straight points to take the 25-23 set win. The second set played out much the same way, with Clarion pulling to within 21-20 with a kill by Holden.
Alexa Cundy notched a kill on a dump play to cut Davenport's lead to 23-21, but the Panthers scored two points in succession to take the 2-0 lead. The Golden Eagles actually led the third set by a score of 9-5, but Davenport scored seven straight points and never trailed again in taking the set 25-21.
Saginaw Valley State opened a modest lead early in the first set of the late match, but Clarion erased that and tied the score at 14 on a kill by Holden. The Cardinals pulled back ahead, but a service error by Olivia Dean brought the Golden Eagles within a single point at 23-22.
Lauren Aichinger cut the lead to 24-23 with a kill, but Sarah Tabit converted a set into a kill to take the set 25-23. Clarion took a 12-10 lead in the second before a big run by the Cardinals, and the latter built their lead to as large as 23-14 before claiming the second set.
The Golden Eagles responded with a win in the third set, taking the advantage midway through and holding it. Holden made it 18-14 with a kill, and the duo of Aichinger and Holden blocked Maria Vukaj to stretch the lead to five points. Leiner bounced a kill to make it 24-20, and then followed with another tally on set point to cut the lead to 2-1. Saginaw Valley took control of the fourth set, though, opening up a double-digit lead and carrying it all the way to the win.
