CALIFORNIA, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles volleyball team took the first two sets of the night against California (PA), and Clarion embarked on a huge fourth set rally to clinch the decision against the Vulcans as they earned a 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 17-25, 26-24) win at the Convocation Center.
 
Clarion took the opening two sets with relative ease against the Vulcans. However, a third set win by California, followed by a spirited start to the fourth set, put the outcome in question for the Golden Eagles. The Vulcans led 20-13 in that game before Clarion rallied for the huge result, with the latter scoring 13 of the next 17 points. It started with a Cal service error, and Taylor Haupt followed with two straight kills to cut it to 20-16. She teamed up with Finley Kearney to block Elisa Rugiero two points later, and Haupt added another kill to make it a 22-19 set.
 
The theatrics were not done. The Golden Eagles trailed 23-19 until two straight attack errors by Courtney Smith cut that deficit in half. Kylie Barto and Olivia Ishmael stuff Natalie Beer on the next point to make it 23-22, and Barto dumped the ball for a kill on the next point to even things up at 23. Beer put her team ahead with a kill, but Clarion had a few more tricks up their sleeve. Cassidy Snider pounded her 31^st kill of the night to tie things up again, and a bad set by Adrianna Favata put Clarion in position to put away the match. Put it away they did, as Lauren Fjerstad delivered a kill on match point for the win.
 
Snider entered the evening's match with the NCAA Division II single-match high for kills in a four-match set, recording 29 against IUP on Oct. 18. She topped that mark with 31 against the Vulcans, tying the program record for that feat set by Julia Holden against Fairmont State on Sept. 20, 2019. Snider also surpassed 1,000 career digs, recovering 17 balls to reach 1,003 for her career. Haley Fledderjohann had a match-high 27 digs and Fjerstad added 18 digs.
 
The Golden Eagles quickly established a two-set lead for themselves, starting with a strong effort in the first set. Raegan Stader gave her side a 15-8 lead with a kill, and Kearney added onto it with a kill of her own to double-up the Vulcans. Snider helped her team win the race to 20 with a kill that made it 20-11, and despite a Cal rally that pulled it closer, the Golden Eagles won the first 25-19. The Vulcans went on a 6-0 run in the second set to tie that one up at 13 apiece but Clarion countered with points on five of the next six points, with Snider punctuating the run with a kill. The Golden Eagles scored four straight to take the second set, with Fjerstad acing Allie Droneberger for the 25-18 win. The Vulcans won the third set to extend the match but could not put away Clarion in the fourth. Read Full Article