CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team started the second half of conference action with their fifth straight win on Tuesday, defeating Cal U in three sets 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-23) at Tippin Gymnasium. Clarion (15-6, 7-2 PSAC West) swept the season series with the Vulcans after a dominant performance at home.
 
Entering Tuesday night's action, only 20 players in NCAA Division II had recorded 20 or more kills in a three-set match in 2021, including Cassidy Snider, who turned the trick against New Haven on Sept. 3. She matched the feat in the win over the Vulcans, recording 20 kills on 34 attempts with just four errors for a .471 attack percentage. Snider also added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Snider is one of only two players in the nation to record 20 or more kills in two matches this season, and still the only player in the PSAC to do so.
 
She was not alone in her offensive production on Tuesday, either. Julia Piccolino came up just a dig shy of a double-double, posting 10 kills and nine digs. Aubrey Wrona chipped in eight kills of her own while playing in all six rotations. Abigail Selfridge had the team-high with 12 digs.
 
Things were nip-and-tuck to start the first set, but a dominant stretch by the Golden Eagles put distance between the teams and set the tone for the night. Snider ripped off two consecutive kills to put Clarion ahead 9-8, and the duo of Wrona and Annie Koester blocked Alayja Floyd to bump it up to 11-8. Snider then accounted for three of the next four Clarion points with a kill and two aces, making it 15-9, and Lauren Aichinger batted a free ball back to put Clarion ahead 18-10. The Golden Eagles took the set 25-14 on an error by the Vulcans.
 
Clarion jumped to a 4-0 lead to start the second set, and an error by Chelsea Howard made it a 10-6 lead for the Golden Eagles. They key moment of the set came late, when the Golden Eagles embarked on a 7-1 run to again build a significant cushion. Piccolino started the rally with a kill and added an ace on the next point. Snider forced set point with a kill at 24-17 and Piccolino followed suit two points later, putting a ball down to make it 25-18. The Golden Eagles opened the third on a 6-0 run but the Vulcans rallied, eventually seizing the momentum and cutting it to 24-23 after an ace by Kelly Lynch. Clarion settled down and got the match point, though, with Piccolino delivering the winner on a kill.