CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team weathered a storm in the third set to dominate the fourth, as Clarion defeated IUP 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15) in Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles improved to 6-0 in conference action after holding off one of the top contenders in the PSAC West division.
The Crimson Hawks managed to pry a set away from the Golden Eagles, with IUP hitting .480 in the third set to stay alive in the match. Clarion responded with a dominant effort in the fourth set, out-hitting IUP .433 - .138 claim the match win.
London Fuller directed the Golden Eagle offense to a team attack percentage of .294.
Cassidy Snider returned to action with 18 kills and a .351 attack percentage, committing just five errors on her 37 attempts.
Julia Piccolino was equally efficient offensively, recording 17 kills and a .387 attack percentage as well as 14 digs.
Amy Regrut was also back on the court, posting eight kills.
The first set was highly competitive throughout, before the Golden Eagles pulled away with a mini-run in the middle.
Lauren Aichinger tied the set at 12 with a kill and gave Clarion a lead on the next two points, teaming with Piccolino for a block on one and adding another kill to make it 14-12. Aichinger and
London Fuller teamed up to block Nicole Peterson to make it 17-13, and Fuller served up an ace on Stefania Anagnostou to take the lead to 20-16. Piccolino eventually ended the set with a kill at 25-19.
Clarion opened the second set on a 7-3 run, buoyed by a service ace from
Hailey Barden to make it a four-point lead. IUP battled back and pulled to within 11-9 on a solo block by Brooke Little, but the Golden Eagles scored four straight – including back-to-back kills by Snider – to get the lead to six points. Piccolino made it 20-14 with a kill and the Golden Eagles wrapped the set with five straight points for the 25-16 victory.
The Crimson Hawks had their best set of the day in the third, hitting nearly .500 in edging the Golden Eagles 25-21. The set had been tied at 21 before a string of errors by Clarion gave IUP the set win. The Golden Eagles responded with their best offensive set of the day, rallying from a 5-4 deficit with six straight points to go up 10-5. Regrut made it a 13-8 advantage with a kill, and Aichinger helped her team win the race to 20 with a kill at 20-13. Snider put away the match point with a kill from the left side at 25-15.
