ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle volleyball team gave the home team everything they could handle through four sets, but Clarion ultimately fell by a 3-1 (26-28, 25-17, 25-27, 25-20) score to Gannon at the Highmark Events Center in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship match.
 
With the loss, Clarion concludes their season with a 28-5 record. One of the top teams in the Atlantic Region throughout the 2022 season, the Golden Eagles ultimately posted one of their best seasons in decades, reaching the region final for the first time since 2010.
 
The Golden Eagles had several opportunities to divert the outcome in their favor, holding late leads over the Golden Knights in all three of the first three sets, but in two of those occasions Gannon was able to muster a victory beyond the typical 25-point barrier.
 
The Golden Eagle middles were highly involved and very successful throughout the match, with Lauren Aichinger posting seven kills and a .357 attack percentage, while Alyson Peters contributed nine kills and a .421 mark. The duo also combined for 12 blocks between them. Cassidy Snider had the team-high with 15 kills to go along with 12 digs for a double-double. London Fuller also finished the day with a double-double, recording 47 assists and 17 digs. Abigail Selfridge finished with 18 digs.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth battle that foreshadowed the caliber of play for the remainder of the match. The Golden Knights were the first team to hit 15 points, going up 16-13 after an error by Aichinger. But Clarion responded with seven of the next 10 points, taking a 20-19 lead after Alyson Peters and Amy Regrut combined to block Madde Blake. The Golden Eagles even went up 23-21, after a kill by Snider and an error by Blake, but Gannon rallied and eventually took a 24-23 lead themselves. Regrut responded with a kill to keep the set alive, and the teams traded points.
 
Eventually, though, Gannon broke through at the end of the set. Sam Deinek posted a kill to make it 27-26, and an error by Aichinger on that set point gave Gannon the win.
 
The Golden Eagles responded with an inspired effort in the second set, turning a narrow lead midway through into an impressive result. With the game tied at 17, Aichinger ripped one off the block for a kill to break the deadlock. Snider followed up with a kill on the next point, and Aichinger gave her team a 20-17 advantage with a kill. Clarion eventually finished the set on an 8-0 run, with Snider recording kills on three consecutive points and Piccolino dropping in an ace on set point.
 
It looked as if Clarion would have the opportunity to run away in the third set as well, but Gannon rallied out of a timeout to keep the tension high. Hailey Barden served up aces on back-to-back serves to give Clarion a 20-15 advantage, but Gannon scored six straight points to re-take the lead at 21-20. The Golden Knights eventually worked it to set point at 24-23, but Fuller tipped a kill to keep the set alive. Peters extended the set with a kill to make it 25-25, but the Golden Knights finished off the rally and took the set 27-25.
 
Gannon opened the fourth set on a 3-1 run, with Peters briefly stemming the bleeding with a kill. The Golden Knights eventually opened that up into a 10-5 lead, though, embarking on a 5-1 run that led to Clarion burning their first timeout of the set. The advantage soon grew to 13-6 as Gannon worked efficiently on offense. Clarion narrowed the deficit, pulling to within 19-15 on a service ace by Selfridge, but the Golden Eagles could not make up the deficit in dropping the fourth.
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