ERIE, Pa. --- Cassidy Snider closed her stellar collegiate career with a program record for kills in a single match, as well as a new program record for kills in a single season, but Clarion fell in a 3-2 (20-25, 19-25, 29-27, 25-23, 14-16) decision to West Virginia State in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional in Erie. The Golden Eagles lost the first two sets but won the third and fourth to tie the match before ultimately falling in the fifth set.
 
Snider recorded a match-high 37 kills against the Yellow Jackets, breaking the previous program record of 33 kills set by Melanie Bull against IUP on Oct. 22, 2002. Her 37 kills would rank second for a single match in the NCAA this season, behind the 38-kill four-set total from Weronika Wrzesinska from Emporia State against Pittsburg State on Oct. 4. Snider also put herself at 606 total kills for the season, breaking the record of 601 she set herself just last season.
 
As such, Snider was the driver behind the Golden Eagles' comeback effort against the Yellow Jackets. Clarion dropped the first two sets to West Virginia State but battled back in the third and fourth sets, forcing a decisive fifth set and pushing that game to the limit as well.
 
Facing elimination late in the third set, Clarion rallied from match point to stay alive. Savannah Taosoga fended off match point with a kill to tie the set at 24, and the duo of Finley Kearney and Emily Klopp blocked Maureen Mathews to briefly put the Golden Eagles ahead. The Yellow Jackets rallied and eventually took a 27-26 lead, once again putting the Golden Eagles at the brink, but Taosoga delivered with a kill to knot things up at 27. Snider put Clarion ahead with a kill and Taosoga posted set point with an ace, beating Hannah Steele to cut the match deficit in half.
 
The comeback effort continued in the fourth set. The Yellow Jackets led 17-16 late in the set, but a service error by Kiersten Eggleton opened the door a crack for the Golden Eagles to fight back. Snider made it 19-17 with a kill, and later added a kill to put Clarion up 21-18. West Virginia State pulled to within 22-21 on a block by Valencia Wilder, but Snider quashed that rally with a kill, and later forced set point with a kill at 24-22. Taosoga was there for set point again, this time taking a set from Marisa Markou and beating the Yellow Jackets to make it 25-23.
 
The fifth set was as tight as the previous four sets. West Virginia State took a 14-12 lead and had match point again in their hands, but Snider and Taosoga fought it off with kills on back-to-back points to even up the set at 14. A Clarion error opened the door for the Yellow Jackets, and they finally finished off the match on a kill by Wilder at 16-14.
 
In addition to her 37 kills, Snider hit .388 with just six errors on 80 attempts. She also added eight digs and three total blocks. Taosoga recorded eight kills and three digs. Markou finished the match with 54 assists while Haley Fledderjohann logged a match-high 29 digs.
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