INDIANA, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fourth set, but Clarion could not push for a fifth as they fell 3-1 (22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 20-25) to IUP at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Center on Tuesday. With the loss, Clarion will await the NCAA Division II Selection Show next week to see if they earn a spot at the NCAA Atlantic Regional.
 
Cassidy Snider became the first player in Golden Eagles history and the third in the history of the PSAC to reach 2,000 career kills, doing so on her second kill of the first set. She entered the week's action as the NCAA Division II active leader in kills and is the only player currently in Division II with more than 2,000 kills.
 
The Golden Eagles fell behind early in the first set but rallied back with a run, erasing a 7-3 deficit with four straight points. Olivia Ishmael and Emily Klopp combined for a block to pull the Golden Eagles to within one point and Ishmael delivered a kill on the next point for the equalizer. Snider made it 13-12 with a kill but the Crimson Hawks responded with seven of the next eight points.
 
Marisa Markou helped the Golden Eagles push back in the set with back-to-back service aces, and Clarion was rewarded with the point after some tough defense at the net led to a kill for Klopp that cut IUP's lead to 19-18. Snider evened the score at 20-20 with an ace, but the Crimson Hawks responded with two straight points to force a Clarion timeout. Stader stemmed the tide with a kill but the Crimson Hawks scored three of the last four points, including a kill by Simay Memisoglu on set point.
 
The second set was a similar battle early on, with Ishmael putting the Golden Eagles ahead 15-14 by slamming down a free ball for a kill. IUP responded with six of the next nine points, with Jessica Neiman helping the Crimson Hawks win the race to 20 points with a kill. Claire Bickett recorded a kill out of the timeout and Snider helped keep the Golden Eagles alive in the second set with a kill that cut it to 23-20. She added another two points later to make it 23-22 and force an IUP timeout, and then went cross court for a kill to stave off set point. It was not enough, though as the Crimson Hawks' Delaney Concannon recorded her eighth kill of the match, shooting past the block to make it 25-23.
 
Clarion got off to their best start of the night in the third set, going up 13-11 on a kill by Klopp. Snider put away four of the first 13 points for the Golden Eagles and Julia Shaw had three kills in her first five swings, all in the third set. An attack error by Audrey Torres gave the Golden Eagles a 15-12 lead and Snider sniped the back line on a back row attack to make it 17-14. Snider tacked on two more kills later in the set, giving the Golden Eagles a 21-16 lead with kills on back-to-back points. IUP scored three straight to force a Clarion timeout, but a block by Finley Kearney and Klopp on Torres forced set point, and Kearney extended the match with a kill on 25-20.
 
In the fourth set, the. Golden Eagles took a 9-7 lead on a kill by Klopp, and Snider made it 12-10 with a kill off the block. Shaw contributed a kill down the line to help Clarion win the race to 15 though IUP responded with four straight points to take a 16-15 lead. The Crimson Hawks' run continued as they built a 19-16 lead, but Kearney and Shaw blocked Neiman to provide some spark. It was not to last, though, as IUP scored four straight points to take a 24-20 lead. Snider recorded one more kill to keep the set alive but the Crimson Hawks scored on a service error to clinc the match.  
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