EDINBORO, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team battled through a fairly pedestrian offensive effort to gut out a conference road win, defeating Edinboro 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) at McComb Fieldhouse. The victory allowed Clarion to continue their unbeaten run through PSAC West play, with the team improving to 8-0 against their division opponents.
Unlike many other conference matches they have played this year, the Golden Eagles did not enjoy an obvious advantage on the offensive end of things. Clarion hit just .173 in the match but was able to stifle the Fighting Scots with their defensive effort, holding them to just a .114 attack percentage and topping them in digs and blocks.
Cassidy Snider went off to the tune of a match-high 13 kills as well as 17 digs for a double-double, while
Julia Piccolino recorded a kill-dig double-double of her own with 11 kills and 11 digs.
London Fuller dished out 38 assists, snagged 12 digs and posted five blocks, while
Abigail Selfridge (18) and
Hailey Barden (11) also broke the double-digit dig barrier.
Lauren Aichinger had seven kills and three blocks.
The Golden Eagles and the Fighting Scots traded runs in the first set, with Edinboro eventually tying the set at 16 after a 4-0 run. Aichinger and Barden recorded kills to retake the lead, and Aichinger sparked another 4-0 run to give the Golden Eagles a 23-18 edge late in the set. Edinboro pulled to within 23-21, but Snider posted a kill on set point to give her team the match edge.
The Fighting Scots were the ones to jump out to a big lead in the second set, going up 6-1 early on and leading 16-11 later on. Clarion responded with a masterful 10-2 run to not just get back into the set but to take the lead, starting with kills on four straight points by Piccolino.
Amy Regrut tied the match at 17 with a kill, and Fuller tipped one over to give her team the lead for good. Regrut added another to force set point at 24-22 and Piccolino finished off the game with a kill two points later. Edinboro jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the third set before the Golden Eagles responded, including a 6-0 run that put them ahead 13-10.
The Fighting Scots cut it to 19-17 on an ace by Emelia Rowell, but Selfridge added one of her own and Snider posted a kill to make it 23-18. Things got interesting down the stretch run as Edinboro scored three straight to make it 24-22, but then an error on match point gave Clarion the win.
