ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle volleyball team rallied to force a fifth set on the road, but Clarion ultimately lost in a five-set showdown with Gannon in the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament championship match on Sunday by a 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 8-15) score.
 
Much like their match just eight days ago, the Golden Eagles and Golden Knights needed five sets to determine a conference champion, with Clarion once again forcing a fifth with a critical fourth-set victory. They rallied from a 2-1 set deficit with an impressive performance in the fourth, hitting .361 with just two attack errors to outlast Gannon and earn the final set of the night.
 
However, in that fifth set, Gannon caught fire at the right time, fending off any chances of a Golden Eagle run with a solid attack. The Golden Knights flipped the court with an 8-6 lead, and Clarion pulled to within 9-7 after a solo block by Amy Regrut, but Gannon scored five straight to essentially put the match out of reach.
 
It had previously seemed like Clarion was seizing the match momentum, thanks to their impressive fourth set win. The Golden Eagles went on a 4-0 run to take the lead early in the set, with Abigail Selfridge tossing in an ace to help make it 11-8. As it turns out the Golden Eagles never relinquished the lead back to Gannon for the rest of the set, with Julia Piccolino breaking a 14-14 tie with a kill. The senior outside added another kills and a service ace to make it 18-15, and Cassidy Snider bounced one to make it 20-16. Regrut and Alyson Peters combined to block Madde Blake to give Clarion a 22-18 lead, and Piccolino finished off the set at 25-21 with a kill.
 
Piccolino led all players in the match with 26 kills while also recorded 13 digs, lifting the Golden Eagle offense with an inspired performance. Snider also recorded a double-double with 18 kills and 17 digs, while London Fuller dished out 49 assists and 18 digs.
 
The teams split the first two sets of the night, with Gannon leading nearly coast-to-coast in the first en route to a 25-19 victory. They built an 8-3 lead in the second set but the Golden Eagles rallied back, cutting the score to 9-8 on back-to-back kills by Piccolino. Snider tied it with two kills on two straight points, making it 10-10, and Clarion eventually took a 16-15 lead on a bad set by Marta Roicka. Peters blocked Gavin Makenna to make it 17-15, and later recorded the kill that made it a 20-17 Clarion advantage. Hailey Barden served up an ace at 22-18, Snider and Lauren Aichinger forced set point with a block, and Hailey Koch's attack error on the subsequent point gave the Golden Eagles a 25-19 advantage.
 
The third set was tied at 12 at one point, but the Golden Knights scored four straight to take a 16-12 lead. Regrut and Piccolino cut that lead down to 16-14, and eventually pulled to within 22-21, but Gannon scored three of the final four points to claim a 25-22 set win and make it 2-1.
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