CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle volleyball team picked up a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, winning in vastly different manners over Saginaw Valley State and Shippensburg respectively. Clarion won the match over the Cardinals by a 3-2 score before sweeping the Raiders 3-0 in the late match.
 
Clarion 3, Saginaw Valley State 2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 15-11)
 
Recap: Four close, grueling sets gave way to an emotional rollercoaster of a fifth set, as the Golden Eagles rallied from an early 5-0 deficit in the final frame to take a 15-11 decision as well as the match. It initially looked as though the wave of momentum that the Cardinals rode to a fourth-set win would carry them all the way to the finish line, as they scored rattled off five straight points and forced the Golden Eagles into a timeout.
 
 Undeterred, the Golden Eagles received a bit of a break when Ava Beard sent her first serve out of the timeout off target. Sophia Lucas came in to serve and kept the Cardinals off balance with an impressive run from the service line, helping to enable a pair of successful attacks from Cassidy Snider to pull the team to within 5-4. Finley Kearney and London Fuller combined to block Karissa Ferry and tie the score, and the Golden Eagles scored the next two points to seize the momentum of the set.
 
Snider and Savannah Taosoga posted kills on back-to-back points to make it an 11-7 lead, and Kearney and Taosoga stuffed Sedona Coon at the net to make it a five-point lead. Saginaw Valley cut the lead to 13-11, but Taosoga pounded a kill to force match point, and the duo of Fuller and Charlie Allison shut down an attempt by Madison Thompson to clinch the emotional victory.
 
Neither team got much going on offense, with Clarion hitting just .140 while the Cardinals clocked in at .109 for the match. Saginaw Valley State got the better of the first and fourth sets, at times holding sizable leads. They led 17-9 in the first set before the Golden Eagles scored six straight to pull closer, and then finished Clarion off for the 25-20 win. The lead was 19-10 late in the fourth set as the Cardinals rebounded from back-to-back Golden Eagle set wins to even the match at 2-2.
 
Clarion, meanwhile, had the better of the action in the middle two frames. The Golden Eagles led 16-10 in the second set after a kill by Snider and a block from Snider and Allison on Nicole Sisk. Kearney made it 21-14 with a kill, and Julia Piccolino recorded three straight points – one kill and two aces – to finish off the set. The Golden Eagles led 23-17 late in the third set after a kill by Piccolino, with Snider ripping a kill on set point for the 25-21 win.
 
Piccolino and Snider tied for the match-high with 19 kills apiece, while London Fuller had 50 assists and 15 digs. Abigail Selfridge also dug out 15 balls.
 
Clarion 3, Shippensburg 0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-15)
 
Recap: The second match of the day proved to be the polar opposite of the first. Clarion put Shippensburg to the test early and often, hitting at an impressive .386 clip in the match while holding the Raiders to just an .021 attack percentage.
 
The start to the first set belied that claim, though, as Shippensburg briefly held a 9-8 advantage. The tables turned when a kill by Charlie Allison kicked off an 8-0 run, and the match was never again in question. Cassidy Snider and Finley Kearney recorded the next four kills, and Abigail Selfridge notched an ace to make it 15-9. Savannah Taosoga recorded a kill to force set point and the Raiders committed an error three points later to give Clarion the set victory.
 
The Golden Eagles were firing on all cylinders in the remaining two sets, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the second after an ace by Haley Fledderjohann and a kill by Piccolino. Kearney and Fuller blocked Kat Negron to make it 14-5, and Snider ripped a kill to increase the lead to 16-6. Charlie Allison bumped the lead to 23-11, and the Golden Eagles closed the set with blocks on back-to-back points to make it 25-11.
 
Clarion kept their collective foot on the gas in the third set, starting out on a 4-0 run that included two blocks as well as an ace by Fuller. Piccolino increased the lead to 9-3, and she later sparked a 5-0 run with two aces and two kills to make it 15-5. Taylor Haupt and Annie Koester recorded kills to make it 20-9, and Selfridge aced Shay Kolivoski on match point to close out the victory.
 
Cassidy Snider was the top offensive power in the match, though, recording 17 kills on 22 attempts with one ace for a .727 attack percentage. Charlie Allison hit .583 with seven kills on 12 attempts, while Piccolino had 10 kills. Selfridge posted 18 digs while Fuller contributed 39 assists and seven digs.
 
 
  Read Full Article