SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle volleyball team got themselves back on track with a dominating effort against Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon, as Clarion swept The Rock 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 26-24) at Morrow Field House.
 
The box score told a tale of statistical domination as the Golden Eagles out-hit the Rock .357 - .049, and outpacing them in kills by a 53-19 margin. It was not for lack of trying by Slippery Rock, as attack attempts were essentially even between the teams; Clarion was simply able to defend nearly every Slippery Rock attack, out-digging them 64-40.
 
Cassidy Snider had a strong bounceback match from her performance the night before, bashing 19 kills on 33 attempts with just one error for .545 hitting percentage. She also dug out eight balls as part of the Golden Eagles' defensive effort. Julia Piccolino totaled 14 kills, seven digs and a .345 attack percentage, while Abigail Selfridge and London Fuller each added 17 digs. Fuller also contributed 41 assists. Hailey Barden had 12 digs and three service aces.
 
The closest set of the day with the third, with the Golden Eagles looking to finish off the match after opening up with two straight set wins. Slippery Rock saw to it that it would not be an easy proposition, taking a 10-4 lead early in the set. Clarion chipped away slowly but surely, pulling to within 12-11 on a kill by Fuller and eventually tying it at 14 on a kill by Piccolino. Amy Regrut gave her team the lead with a kill at 15-14, and re-took it with another kill two points late.
 
The Rock continued to hang around, though, even after Snider bounced a kill to force match point at 24-22. Callie Chevalier had a kill on the following point, and an error by Fuller tied it up at 24. Slippery Rock committed an error on the subsequent point to put the Golden Eagles back in position to win, and win they did as Piccolino finished it off with a kill.
 
The first set was highlighted by an extended run for the Golden Eagles, starting with Piccolino's kill to tie the set at 6-6. That spark turned into a 14-2 blaze for Clarion, with Snider smacking two kills to make it 17-8 at one point. Snider added another kill at 20-9 to give Clarion an 11-point edge over the Rock, followed by a kill from Fuller to make it 23-12. Piccolino forced set point with a kill and Snider buried it on the next point, giving Clarion a 25-12 set win.
 
The Golden Eagles decided to keep playing the hits in the second set, embarking on a 7-0 run early to take a 12-4 advantage. Snider ripped kills on back-to-back points to boost the lead to 16-8, and Fuller aced Erica Selfridge on the next point to make it a nine-point match. Clarion closed the second set on a 4-0 run that was punctuated by two straight aces from Barden.
 
 
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