ERIE, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team saw their four-match win streak snapped on Saturday, dropping a pair of 3-0 matches to 10^th-ranked Gannon at the Hammermill Center in Erie. Clarion (4-4) will head back to Erie on Wednesday for a doubleheader at Mercyhurst.
 
The second match was generally closer than the first, though in both instances the Golden Knights stymied the Golden Eagle offense en route to a sweep win. Clarion hit just .011 in the first meeting between the teams and .149 in the second, while Gannon hit .247 and .270, respectively. The Golden Knights also served tough, posting 16 total aces to Clarion's nine, and held the dig advantage in both matches.
 
Julia Piccolino led Clarion in kills with 29 over the six sets, including a match-high 17 in the second match of the day. The sophomore outside hit .441 in that second match, recording just two errors on her 34 attempts. Sadie Leisinger added five kills in the first match while Aleah Karam and Amy Regrut each had four in the second.
 
The closest set of the first match was the very first one, with neither team pulling away from the other until Gannon put on the finishing touches late. The Golden Eagles won the race to 15 points after a service ace from Aubrey Wrona made it 15-13, and they took a 19-18 advantage when Alexa Cundy and Abigail Yeager combined to block Lauren Sampson. Yeager later tied the scored at 20 with a kill, but Gannon scored five of the next six points to take the first set by a 25-21 score.
 
The Golden Knights were firmly in control for the duration of the second set, jumping out to an 18-8 lead and eventually leading by as many as 12 points. The teams traded the last couple of points, with Gannon eventually pulling ahead by a 25-14 margin. The third set started with a 6-2 run by Gannon, and they eventually stretched the gap to double-digits with a Clarion attack error. Ashley Kerestes and Kaeli Kristensen combined for a block on match point to seal the win.
 
Conversely, it was the first set of the next match that was the only one to truly get away from Clarion, as the Golden Knights pulled away early en route to a 25-15 set win. The Golden Eagles responded with a big run to start the second set, outpacing Gannon 7-3 to open. Piccolino and Annie Koester got it started with a block of Laura Bebinger, Cambron Hampton aced Madde Blake, and Piccolino punctuated the run with back-to-back kills. Gannon rallied, scoring 13 of the next 19 points to take a 16-11 lead, but Clarion pulled to within three points late on an ace by Piccolino. Makenna Gavin forced set point with a kill to make it 24-20, and Katie Becht served up an ace to give her team a 2-0 match lead.
 
The Golden Knights opened the third set on a 7-2 run, but Clarion responded with an 8-3 run of their own to tie the set at 10. The Golden Eagles kept it close, eventually taking a 17-16 lead on an error. London Fuller made it an 18-17 advantage with a kill, and a Gannon error gave Clarion a 20-19 advantage late in the set. The Golden Knights responded by scoring six of the next eight points, though, taking the set 25-22 and the match.