CLARION, Pa. – Playing in front of a raucous crowd for their annual Halloween Bash, the Golden Eagle volleyball team picked up a key win in the PSAC West playoff race, sweeping Gannon 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-20) at Tippin Gymnasium.
 
The victory moves Clarion (16-7, 8-3 PSAC West) into a tie with the Golden Knights for second place in the West division, though the Golden Eagles now hold a tiebreaker with Gannon by virtue of having won more sets in head-to-head action this year (4-3). It also snapped a 10-match losing streak to the Golden Knights, who had won every meeting between 2016 and today.
 
One of the biggest edges for Clarion in this meeting was at the net. Defensively, the Golden Eagles out-blocked the Golden Knights with a 9-6 total team block advantage, and the persistence of the block led to a 61-46 advantage in digs as well. Offensively, the middle hitter duo of Alyson Peters and Lauren Aichinger combined for 17 kills and a .406 hitting percentage, committing just four errors between the two of them.
 
Cassidy Snider did some damage both offensively and defensively, going off for a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs. Aubrey Wrona was efficient, recording seven kills and hitting .316. London Fuller had a double-double of her own with 34 assists and 14 digs. Abigail Selfridge was all over the back line, recording 22 digs in just three sets.
 
The first set portended the good things to come in the match, with Clarion opening on an 8-3 run. Wrona punctuated the run with a service ace, and Aichinger eventually made it 10-6 with a kill. The big run came just a few points later, when Snider bounced a kill to kick off a 12-2 run that put the first set virtually out of reach for the Golden Knights. Aichinger forced set point with a kill at 24-12, and two points later Snider finished it off with a kill. The second set was most closer throughout, with the Golden Eagles building a modest lead but never totally pulling away. Lauren Sampson cut Clarion's lead to 19-16 with a kill before Aichinger got the sideout kill on the next point. Fuller made it a five-point edge with a tip kill at 21-16, and the set never got closer than four points again. Piccolino wrapped it up with a shot at 25-20 to put the Golden Eagles up 2-0.
 
The only tension in the third set came in the very late moments as the Golden Eagles opened up a 21-11 advantage in the final frame. Gannon scored nine of the next 11 points to put some fear in Clarion, cutting the lead to 23-20, but an attack error by Ashley Beyers gave the Golden Eagles the opening they needed. Snider finished off the win with her 10^th kill of the night, making it 25-20.