CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team won both ends of a doubleheader in dramatic fashion on Saturday, sweeping Mercyhurst 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-20) in the opening bout and rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 (27-29, 25-27, 25-19, 25-23, 19-17) win over the Lakers in the nightcap. Clarion (9-5) sweeps the four-match season series with the Lakers and have won five of their last six matches heading into their final week of the spring.
 
Though the ultimate results were the same, the two matches played out in far different fashions. Clarion dominated the action in the first match of the day, with Mercyhurst never really threatening to take control of the contest. In the second, though, it was not until a series of shifts in the Golden Eagle lineup that the momentum shifted for good in Clarion's favor, though the two sets the Golden Eagles dropped were tight and went beyond 25 points.
 
Julia Piccolino averaged 5.00 kills per set over the two matches, totaling 30 kills in just six sets of action, while Aubrey Wrona's day included 21 kills and 35 digs. Setter Alexa Cundy combined for 36 assists and a number of blocks in the first match, showing off her athleticism with a solo stuff in the first set, while setter London Fuller went off for 50 assists, 12 digs and four blocks in the late match.
 
In match one, the Golden Eagles and Lakers kept it close throughout most of the first set, with Mercyhurst tying the score at 16 on a kill by Madison Kasper. Clarion took the lead for good on the next point with a kill by Piccolino, part of a 6-1 run for the Golden Eagles. Abigail Selfridge served up an ace to push the lead to 22-17, and Aleah Karam and Piccolino posted kills to end the set at 25-20. The second set was more lopsided in Clarion's favor, as the Golden Eagles opened up a 13-7 lead on a kill by Wrona. Wrona stretched the advantage out to 20-12 on a kill, and eventually finished the set at 25-16.
 
Mercyhurst again kept the third set close early on, but the Golden Eagles rode a 5-1 run to take a 17-12 advantage. Clarion won the race to 20 on a service error by Mercyhurst, and Piccolino finished off the match with a kill at 25-20.
 
In the second match, though, the Lakers held Clarion off in a pair of marathon sets to start the match. Mercyhurst took the first set 29-27 after Addy Benjamin blocked Abigail Yeager to force set point, and Beth Brady polished off the game with a kill. The Lakers pulled a similar trick in the second, with Kate Hennessy and Madison Kasper recording back-to-back kills for a 27-25 lead. The Golden Eagles seized the momentum in the third by taking an early lead and building it steadily throughout, taking a 19-12 lead on a block by Piccolino and Lindsey Mausser. Karam finished the set off with a kill to make it 25-19 and keep Clarion in the match.
 
It looked like the Golden Eagles might run away with the fourth set as well, as they took a 20-14 lead at one point. Mercyhurst battled back and pulled to within 24-23 before Piccolino finished it off, bouncing a kill to tie the set at 2-2. The fifth played out much the same as Clarion opened up a 14-9 lead before the Lakers responded with six straight points. The Golden Eagles staved off elimination on a block by Lauren Aichinger and Fuller, and Piccolino eventually tallied two straight kills for the 19-17 win.