CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team wrapped up their 2021 regular season with an emotional win on Saturday, defeating Pitt-Johnstown 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18) at Tippin Gymnasium.
 
Having already clinched the third seed in the PSAC Tournament, Clarion (19-9, 11-5 PSAC West) will head to Edinboro on Tuesday, Nov. 16 for their first round meeting with the second-seeded Fighting Scots. Edinboro finished the regular season with a 21-5 overall record, including a 13-3 mark in PSAC West play.
 
The match with the Mountain Cats still carried emotional significance, as it represented the final home match in the careers of eight Golden Eagle seniors. The team sent their seniors off in style with a victory over Pitt-Johnstown, winning the first two sets handily and eventually going off for a win in four.
 
Julia Piccolino and Cassidy Snider each recorded kill-dig double-doubles, with the former recording 11 kills and 13 digs and the latter 13 kills and 13 digs. Lauren Aichinger, one of the octet of seniors for the Golden Eagles, added 11 kills and a team-high four total blocks.
 
The first set went the way of the Golden Eagles, with Clarion riding a couple small runs to slowly build a larger lead. They first broke a 5-5 tie with three straight points, including a kill by Aichinger, and they won the race to 10 with another kill by the senior middle. Snider made it 15-11 with a kill, and a 7-1 run by the Golden Eagles increased the lead to 23-14. Snider finished off the first set with a kill at 25-15. Pitt-Johnstown led 10-7 in the second set before a big run by the Golden Eagles, with Clarion rattling off nine of the next 10 points to build a 15-11 lead. They then went on a 4-0 run late in the set, with Aubrey Wrona adding an ace to make it 19-15, and Alyson Peters won the set 25-22 with a solo block against Elizah Wilson.
 
The Mountain Cats dug deep and won the third set 25-19, but Clarion fended off their advances and held on for the team win. The Golden Eagles bought themselves some important distance with kills by Snider and Peters to make it 16-13, and Wrona ripped off two straight aces to make it 21-15. Snider had the winning kill on match point, bouncing a shot in the middle to make it 25-18.