CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team kept their conference win streak intact with a divisional win on Friday night, sweeping Pitt-Johnstown 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) in Tippin Gymnasium.
The victory saw Clarion improve to 15-1 overall on the season, their best start to a season since going 23-1 to open the 2013 season. Their five straight conference wins to start the campaign is their best streak since doing the same in 2014. The Golden Eagles have been particularly dominant at home, winning 25 straight sets at home dating back to last season, and 24 straight to open the 2022 schedule.
Hailey Barden and
London Fuller both finished with double-doubles on the evening, with Barden recording a season-high 13 kills and 12 digs and Fuller adding 39 assists and 12 digs. Barden hit .423, committing just two errors on 26 swings.
Julia Piccolino had a match-high 15 kills and a .393 attack percentage, while
Alyson Peters posted eight kills and a sterling .727 hitting percentage.
Defensively, Barden and Fuller tied for the match-high in digs.
Abigail Selfridge was just one dig behind them with 11. Fuller and London Aichinger also had match-highs with three blocks apiece.
In some ways the stat sheet belied the actual flow of the match, as the contest was much closer than the numbers may have led one to believe. The Mountain Cats kept it tight throughout the evening, including a third set where the teams were separated by just one point late. Gabi DeRenzo dropped a serve right on the back line to pull UPJ within 22-21, but Piccolino rallied with a kill to make it 23-21. An error by Clarion on the ensuing serve once again put the Mountain Cats in position to come back, but Peters bounced a kill to make it 24-22, and Fuller aced DeRenzo on match point for the win.
Clarion ultimately hit .306 for the match while the Mountain Cats attacked at a .135 clip. Digs were 44-34 in favor of the Golden Eagles, and aces were 6-3 for Clarion.
The first set started close before a 10-2 Golden Eagle run sealed the deal, starting with five straight points to make it 17-13.
Sadie Leisinger and Barden started the run with kills, and Piccolino eventually made it 20-14 with a bounce later in the set. The senior outside hitter had kills on three of the final four points of the set, including the one to force set point and the one to put it away at 25-17. Clarion dominated the second set, leading 15-18 after three straight kills by
Alyson Peters. Barden bounced a kill to make it 19-12, and Aichinger made it 21-15 with a kill. Piccolino ultimately finished the set on a kill at 25-18.
