CLARION, Pa. --- After a slow start the Golden Eagle volleyball team found their footing at home, defeating California (PA) 3-0 (25-22-, 25-16, 25-22) in Tippin Gym on Friday night.
 
It took a little while for the Golden Eagles to get things going against Cal, as the scrappy Vulcans kept it close for a good portion of the first set. The same held true in the third as they attempted to stave off elimination, but ultimately the Golden Eagles brought too much firepower to bear in the locking up the win.
 
Cassidy Snider posted a match-high 16 kills, two more than Cal's Elisa Rugiero, but the difference in the match was the secondary scoring that the Golden Eagles enjoyed. Julia Piccolino picked up the pace as the match went on, notching 10 kills and an .444 attack percentage, committing a paltry two errors on 18 attempts. Charlie Allison was also efficient and productive, posting 10 kills and a .353 attack percentage.
 
The defensive statistics were largely equal between the teams, but Clarion managed to make their defensive plays at key points in the match. Finley Kearney finished with five total blocks while Abigail Selfridge posted a team-high 13 digs.
 
The first set was close through the first half of action, though things slowly started to turn the Golden Eagles way at that point after a 3-0 run gave them the lead for good. That rally included a kill by Snider that made it 13-12. Snider bagged two more kills to up the lead to 16-13 and the Golden Eagles made it 19-15 on a kill by Allison. Kearney forced set point at 24-20 with a kill and Snider finished it off three points later, making it 25-22.
 
The second set was the outlier of the night, with Clarion jumping out to a 10-4 lead and controlling action throughout. Piccolino increased the lead to 12-5 and later to 15-8 with kills, and the duo of Piccolino and Kearney blocked Sarah Stephenson to make it 21-14. Karlee Berchtold finished off the set with a kill, bouncing one on set point to make it 25-16. The Vulcans made a match of it in the third set, coming back from a deficit to tie the set at 20-20 and later pulling to within 22-21. Allison and Snider put an end to that little rally, bouncing kills on back to back points to make it 24-21, and an error by Rugiero on match point sealed the win.