ALLENDALE, Mich. --- The Golden Eagle volleyball team split on the opening day of the Hampton Inn and Suites Grand Rapids Downtown Classic on Friday, coming back for a 3-2 win over Davenport before falling 3-0 to Grand Valley state. Clarion (5-1) will finish the weekend with matches against Tiffin and Ursuline on Saturday.
 
Clarion 3, Davenport 2 (18-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-11)
 
Recap: The Panthers blitzed the Golden Eagles in the first two sets, jumping out to a two-set lead by hitting at an extraordinary pace to start. Davenport committed just four total attack errors in the first two sets, hitting a sterling .436 in that timeframe while Clarion hit just .082. The second set in particular was a rough go for the Golden Eagles, as the Panthers opened up a 21-11 lead at one point and seized control of the match on a kill by Lindsay Taylor on set point.
 
Down but not out, the Golden Eagles started the arduous process of coming back in the third set. They opened on a 7-1 run that included back-to-back blocks from Finley Kearney, as well as Savannah Taosoga and Cassidy Snider, and Snider put away a kill to give her team an 8-2 lead. Davenport responded with five straight points to pull within 8-7 but Taylor Haupt helped the team win the race to 10 with kills on consecutive points. Abigail Selfridge made it 15-12 with an ace and Snider bumped it to 21-17 after bouncing a kill and launching an ace on back-to-back points. Taosoga and Charlie Allison recorded kills to make it 24-19, and an error by the Panthers' Sydney Swan gave the Golden Eagles a 25-20 set lead.
 
It was just the opening Clarion needed. The Golden Eagles opened the fourth set on another big run, going up 8-2 after a trio of errors by the Panthers. London Fuller notched a kill to up the lead to 15-8 and the advantage soon ballooned to nine points after Kearney posted a kill to make it 20-11. Haupt bumped the lead to 23-15 with a kill and Snider forced set point with one at 24-16, leading to an error by the Panthers to even up the match.
 
Davenport forced the court flip in the fifth set, going up 8-5 after a kill by Swan, but Clarion responded with four straight points to take the lead. Haupt pulled her team to within 8-7 with a kill and later notched one to put them ahead, making it 9-8. Allison gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good two points later, bouncing a kill to make it a 10-9 lead. Haupt aced Lindsay Taylor to give the Golden Eagles a 13-9 advantage, and Kearney eventually finished off the comeback win with a kill at 15-11.
 
Snider led the Golden Eagles with 13 total kills in the match, though Haupt posted 11 kills in just four sets of work. The freshman also hit .370, committing just one error on 27 attempts. Fuller and Snider both ended up with double-doubles, the former posting 37 assists and 13 digs, and the latter 13 kills and 13 digs.
 
Grand Valley State 3, Clarion (11-25, 10-25, 17-25)
 
Recap: It was a matchup of heretofore undefeated teams, with the Lakers – picked to finish second overall in the GLIAC in 2023 – sweeping the Golden Eagles in Clarion's second match of the day. The statistics were lopsided in favor of Grand Valley State, with the Lakers hitting .427 in three sets while holding the Golden Eagles to just a .045 attack percentage.
 
The Lakers controlled the match from the outset, opening on a 10-3 run to take an early lead in the first set. Kearney and Snider stopped some of the bleeding with a kill and Haupt bounced a kill to make it 10-5, but the reprieve was short-lived as GVSU eventually built a 22-9 advantage. Brianna Stawski finished off the set with a kill, making it 25-11. The second set played out much the same with, with the Lakers opening up on a 10-4 run. It soon ballooned into a 20-9 lead for GVSU, with the Lakers closing the frame on a 5-0 run to cap a 25-10 win.
 
The Golden Eagles showed some signs of recovery in the third set, taking a 4-1 lead early with two kills by Snider. Fuller dished out an ace to put her team ahead 6-2 but the Lakers responded with five straight points, moving themselves into a 7-6 advantage. Allison recorded a kill to cut the deficit to 12-10 at one point, but Clarion got no closer as the Lakers held on for a 25-17 win.
 
Snider finished with a team-high 10 kills, while Allison recorded seven kills and hit .462.
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