SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit for a stunning road victory on Friday night, with Clarion beating Slippery Rock 3-2 (27-29, 14-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-10) at Morrow Field House. They won the final three sets of the night, putting away The Rock in the fifth set on a kill by Taylor Haupt.
 
Things looked grim for the Golden Eagles after the second set, a frame the Rock won by an 11-point margin. Slippery Rock hit. 478 in that set while the Golden Eagles were in the negative, committing eight errors compared to seven kills for a -.043 attack percentage. Clarion needed a third set win to extend the match, and they took a major step toward that goal with a 3-0 run midway through to tie the set at 17. Haupt started the mini-run with a kill, and the duo of Emily Klopp and Olivia Ishmael issued blocks on back-to-back points to even things up. Another 3-0 run put the Golden Eagles ahead 22-19, with Cassidy Snider blocking Kaitlyn Danszczak to punctuate it, but The Rock countered with four straight points to regain the advantage.
 
Haupt halted their run with a kill, and the duo of Karlee Berchtold and Finley Kearney blocked Erica Selfridge to force set point. Berchtold recorded a kill on the ensuing point to take the set 25-23, and give Clarion new life in the match. The Golden Eagles took advantage of their newfound momentum, burning through The Rock with a massive 12-0 run in the fourth set. That rally included five kills from Snider as well as a pair of service aces from Lauren Fjerstad, and Emily Klopp added a kill to make it 19-9. Haupt ended the set with a kill at 25-15, setting the stage for a decisive fifth set.
 
Clarion took the first three points of the fifth set and never allowed the Rock to get back ahead. Snider accounted for seven of the team's first eight points in the set, posting six kills and teaming with Kearney for a block on Danszczak. The closest things got in the fifth was at 8-8, after Selfridge and Callie Chevalier recorded kills on back-to-back points, but the Golden Eagles responded with three straight points. Haupt played into two of the Golden Eagles' final three points, teaming with Ishmael for a block to make it 13-9 and then recording the final two kills of the match.
 
Snider finished the match with 27 kills total kills to lead all players, and also added 18 digs to rank second on the team in that category. Haupt logged seven kills and a .316 attack percentage in just three sets of play. Haley Fledderjohann had a team-high 21 digs, followed by Snider and also Fjerstad, who had 17 digs. Clarion held a significant edge in blocking over The Rock, finishing with 15 total team blocks.
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