EDINBORO, Pa. – The third time really did prove to be the charm on Tuesday night.
 
Heading on the road to Edinboro for the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament, the Golden Eagle volleyball team stunned the Fighting Scots at McComb Fieldhouse, sweeping them 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-16) to advance to the tournament semifinals. Edinboro had won the previous two meetings this season but Clarion (20-9) turned the tables on their hosts on this night, snapping what had been a four-match losing streak to the Fighting Scots dating back to 2018.
 
With the win, Clarion will advance to the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament for the first time since the 2015 season. The tournament will shift now to East Stroudsburg, the highest remaining seed in the East division. The Golden Eagles will face the Warriors in a semifinal match on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
 
Unlike the previous two meetings between the teams this year, the Golden Eagle offense hummed with efficiency against the formidable Fighting Scot defense. Clarion hit .277 as a team, including two sets – the first and the third – where they hit better than .300 as a squad. Cassidy Snider recorded a match-high 17 kills and a .289 attack percentage, while fellow outside hitter Julia Piccolino contributed 12 kills and a .290 mark. Lauren Aichinger continued her recent run of strong play with eight kills and a team-best .357 attack percentage. Setter London Fuller finished with 33 kills while setting the Golden Eagles to that .277 mark, and also added eight digs and three blocks.
 
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were up to the challenge against a tough Edinboro offense. They held the Fighting Scots to just a .067 attack percentage as a team, with Aichinger adding six blocks while Aubrey Wrona and Alyson Peters chipped in four apiece. Abigail Selfridge delivered 23 digs in just three sets an action, an average of better than seven digs per set.
 
The most dramatic set of the night was the second, in which the Fighting Scots nearly tied the team match after a 25-17 win for Clarion in the first set. The Golden Eagles led 21-16 but Edinboro charged back with a 5-0 run, seizing the momentum with a block by Natalie Pallone that tied the set at 21. The Golden Eagles regained their footing and the teams traded points back and forth all the way until 25-25. Aichinger killed a free ball to break the tie, and Snider put away a set by Cambron Hampton for the set point at 27-25, as well as a 2-0 match lead.
 
Edinboro's last best chance at the comeback evaporated in the third set after the Fighting Scots took a 12-9 lead. Fuller and Wrona combined to block Bella Burrelli to cut the lead to 12-11, and then Fuller aced Burrelli on the ensuing serve to tie it up. The Fighting Scots scored just three more points the rest of the way as Clarion dominated en route to the win.
 
Edinboro led 9-6 in the first set before a stunning reversal by the Golden Eagles, with Clarion scoring 11 of the next 13 points to make it a 17-11 advantage. During one 6-0 stretch by the Golden Eagles, Piccolino recorded three straight kills, and then added another after to make it 18-13. Aichinger and Fuller blocked Bella Burrelli to make it 23-16, and Snider took a set from Hampton and killed it for set point. Snider followed with another kill two points later for the first set win.