ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle volleyball team will kick off what they hope to be an extended weekend on the shores of Lake Erie on Friday, when Clarion – the second seed in the NCAA Atlantic Regional bracket – takes on seventh-seeded West Liberty at the Highmark Events Center. First serve between the Golden Eagles and the Hilltoppers is slated for 2:30 p.m.
 
The opponent is a familiar one for the Golden Eagles. Their sole non-conference loss of the regular season came at the hands of West Liberty on the final day of the Atlantic Region Crossover, a 3-1 result for the Hilltoppers in West Liberty. That match punctuated what had been a madcap week of action for Clarion, as it represented their seventh match in as many days. Neither team hit particularly well in that meeting, but the Golden Eagles were the ones that struggled most noticeably, hitting just .077 in the course of four sets.
 
Looking at the broader picture, though, the Golden Eagles have traditionally done well in their matches with the Hilltoppers. Before their meeting on Sept. 10, Clarion had won six straight matches dating back to 2008, with all but one of those going down as 3-0 sweeps. Further, five of those matches came in West Liberty; the Golden Eagles have not played the Hilltoppers anywhere else since an Oct. 18, 2008 match at Tippin Gym.
 
In the first meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Hilltoppers, Julia Piccolino recorded a match-high 16 kills, while Amy Regrut posted 13 kills.
 
There will certainly be some star power on both sides of the net on Friday. Clarion boasts the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Atlantic Region Player of the Year in London Fuller, as well as First Team All-Region selection Julia Piccolino and Second Team All-Region pick Cassidy Snider. West Liberty, meanwhile, features First Team All-Region libero Nyia Setla and Second Team middle Ruby Countryman. Setla had 22 digs in the first meeting, while Countryman had seven kills and eight blocks.
 
The winner of Friday's match will face off with either IUP or Wheeling in the semifinal match on Saturday, November 19 at 5 p.m. Clarion won all of their respective meetings with those teams this year as well, with the Golden Eagles defeating IUP three times – including in the PSAC Tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 9 – and Wheeling once, with the latter a five-set road win at the Alma Grace McDonough Center.