CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team split with PSAC rival IUP in a doubleheader on Wednesday, defeating the Crimson Hawks 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-12) in the first match before falling 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 22-25) in the second half. Clarion (7-4) excelled offensively in the first match but struggled to find a rhythm in the second.
 
Julia Piccolino recorded kill-dig double-doubles in both matches. She went off for 18 kills and 14 digs in the first match, recording just five errors on 44 attempts for a .295 attack percentage. The sophomore followed that performance with a 17-kill, 11-dig performance against the Crimson Hawks in the late match, hitting a solid .256 on 39 attempts. Abigail Selfridge had the team-high in digs in both matches, finishing with 16 and 13, respectively.
 
One of the bigger stories to play out in the first match was the performance of junior Aubrey Wrona, who looked dominant at times and came up just one dig shy of her own double-double. Wrona recorded 17 kills on 41 attempts with just five errors for a .293 hitting percentage, hitting authoritatively and also serving up two aces. Alexa Cundy set the first match and finished with 47 assists, nine digs and a team-high three aces.
 
The Crimson Hawks looked warm to the task in the first set of the first match, going toe-to-toe with Clarion and pulling out a 25-21 win. The Golden Eagles responded with three progressively better efforts in the remaining sets to take the four-set victory. Clarion rallied from a modest 13-12 deficit in the middle of the second set, rattling off eight of the next 10 points to take a 20-15 lead. Wrona finished off that run with a kill, and Piccolino posted kills on two of the next three points to make it 22-17. Cundy and Annie Koester combined to block Lexi Hraga to make it 23-17 and Piccolino forced set point by acing Celine Blon at 24-17. Wrona polished off the set win with a kill two points later.
 
The third and fourth sets were more decidedly lopsided in Clarion's favor, with the Golden Eagles opening the third on a 10-4 run. The Crimson Hawks cut the deficit to three at one point before Clarion expanded it again, with Wrona acing Hraga to make it 18-12. Piccolino helped Clarion win the race to 20 with a kill, and the Golden Eagles closed out the third set by scoring five of the last six points to make it 25-17. A 9-1 run in the middle of the fourth set turned what was a close one into a runaway, as Wrona posted back-to-back kills to make it 14-5 at one point. The lead reached a dozen after an attack error by Nicole Peterson made it 20-8, and Piccolino scored the kill on match point for the win.
 
IUP came out reinvigorated in the second match, winning a trio of close sets for the sweep. The first set was back-and-forth all the way through, with Clarion scoring three straight at one point to tie the score at 23. Lindsey Mausser got that run going with a kill, which was followed by a block from Piccolino and Lauren Aichinger, and finally capped by a Piccolino kill. IUP took advantage of a service error to force set point, with Jaden Fuller posting the set winner at 25-23. The Crimson Hawks used a strong serve to control the action in the second set, acing the Golden Eagles seven times in what turned out to be a 25-19 win. Clarion rallied in the third set from a 19-15 deficit, scoring five straight times to pull ahead 20-19, but the Crimson Hawks countered with a 4-0 run of their own to make it 23-20. Piccolino staved off elimination with a kill at 24-22, but Peterson finished off match point with a kill.