GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team wrapped a jam-packed two week stretch with a dominant road effort in conference play, defeating Seton Hill 3-0 (25-20, 25-x, 25-15) in Greensburg on Friday night. Clarion (12-1, 2-0 PSAC West) controlled the action with the Griffins, who had entered the weekend with a 9-2 overall record.
The match was the culmination of a stretch that saw the Golden Eagles play nine matches in 13 days, including the team's conference opener at home against Mercyhurst earlier this week. Clarion handled that run of matches with aplomb, winning eight of the nine and improving to 2-0 in conference action.
Clarion hit .260 in the match while holding the Griffins to just a .174 attack percentage. Once again, the trend of the Golden Eagles serving tough showed up, as they out-aced Seton Hill 8-0 and out-blocked them 11-4.
Julia Piccolino was on fire on the outside, recording 16 kills and hitting .519 by committing just two errors on 27 attempts. The Golden Eagles' duo in the middle,
Lauren Aichinger and
Alyson Peters, combined for 15 kills and just three errors between them, and setter
London Fuller dished out 35 assists.
Abigail Selfridge finished with a team-high eight digs.
Piccolino and Fuller got to work quickly in the first set, with the former recording two kills in the first four points and the other acing Payton Rodberg to kick off a 3-1 run.
Hailey Barden added an ace to up the lead to 10-5, but the Griffins pulled to within 16-15 after a kill by Katie Koziarz. A Seton Hill error halted that momentum, and
Hailey Barden ripped a kill to increase the lead to 18-15.Aichinger made it 20-16 with a kill, Piccolino forced set point with a kill at 24-20, and Seton Hill ultimately committed an error on the ensuing point to end the set.
The second set was also close for long stretches, with the Griffins leading 16-15 after a kill by Rodberg. That sparked a long run for the Golden Eagles, though, who scored each of the next seven points to retake the advantage. Piccolino tied the set at 16 with a kill and Selfridge aced Carrie Leazer to go ahead 17-16. Fuller and Peters recorded blocks on back-to-back points to make it 19-16, and Piccolino eventually ended the set at 25-19 with a kill. The Griffins built a 6-4 lead early in the third set and pulled as close as 10-9, but the Golden Eagles scored 15 of the next 21 points to wrap up the match. That included three straight to conclude, with Selfridge acing Abby Santacroce and Peters bouncing the final kill of the night at 25-15.
