CLARION, Pa. — Clarion (2-2, 0-0 PSAC) dominated Roberts Wesleyan (0-4, 0-0 ECC) in a straight-sets victory at Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday, winning 25-11, 25-22, 25-19 to close out the 2025 Tony Banner Memorial Tournament.
The Golden Eagles opened the first set with a balanced attack, blowing past the RedHawks for a 25-11 set win.
Emily Klopp's entrance was marked by a kill that initiated a scoring streak, with
Natalie Karrick and
Raegan Stader delivering critical kills to maintain momentum. The set concluded with a decisive run, as the Golden Eagles capitalized on multiple errors by Roberts Wesleyan and a pair of service aces from
Lauren Fjerstad. Clarion scored 11 of the final 13 points of the first set, punctuated by
Finley Kearney's final kill to close out the set.
The second set opened with a back-and-forth exchange, but Roberts Wesleyan initially surged ahead to a 15-7 lead. Clarion responded by chipping away slowly but surely, with the run including a handful of kills from Kearney. The Golden Eagles scored six straight at one point to pull with 15-13, and they finally took the lead on a block by Karrick and Kearney that made it 21-20. Karrick rolled a kill at 23-21, and Stader scored kills on back-to-back points to close the set 25-22.
The third set began with Clarion quickly capitalizing on a service error from Roberts Wesleyan, followed by two consecutive kills from Stader, assisted by
Haley Fledderjohann, giving them an early lead. Clarion maintained momentum, with Stader continuing to shine, contributing several key kills, including a series of three straight that expanded their advantage. Despite a brief rally from the Redhawks that narrowed the gap, Clarion held firm, sealing the set 25-19 with
Grayson Kinsman's block on Morgan Verbridge's attack error.
Stader led Clarion with 17 kills on 34 attempts, with the sophomore hitting .441 on the evening. Kearney was efficient in her performance, recording eight kills with a .545 hitting percentage, along with three block assists.
Kylie Barto facilitated the offense with 20 assists while adding nine digs on defense. Fledderjohann contributed significantly on defense, collecting 14 digs across three sets.
