CLARION, Pa. — The Golden Eagles (15-5, 7-1 PSAC) won their fifth straight match and eighth in their last nine outings Friday, topping Slippery Rock (6-14, 0-8 PSAC) 3-1 (25-17, 25-11, 17-25, 25-18) at Tippin Gymnasium.
Clarion dominated the stat sheet, finishing with advantages in kills (52-34), hitting percentage (.214 to .053), and total blocks (13-6).
Taylor Haupt paced the Golden Eagles with a double-double, collecting 14 kills, 18 digs, and 16 total points.
Kalina Powell anchored the defense with a match-high 20 digs alongside three service aces.
Emily Klopp hit .438 with nine kills and a match-best seven blocks, while
Natalie Karrick directed the offense with a team-high 27 assists, nine kills, and three digs.
Tied 11-11 in the opening frame, Clarion seized control with a 7-0 run fueled by kills from
Raegan Stader, Klopp, and Haupt, along with net presence from
Finley Kearney.
Lauren Fjerstad served up six consecutive points during the stretch to make it 18-11.
Marisa Markou later served a four-point push featuring two Karrick kills to bring Clarion to set point at 24-14, and Haupt closed out the 25-17 frame off a Markou feed.
The Golden Eagles broke set two wide open with another 7-0 surge, expanding an 11-6 edge to 18-6. Karrick keyed the run from both the floor and the service line, notching two kills, an ace, and six straight service points alongside a Kearney-Stader block. Earlier, consecutive Powell aces and a block by Klopp and
Cara Vandeborne helped build an initial 7-2 lead. Kearney, Klopp, and Haupt tacked on late kills before Haupt capped the lopsided 25-11 win with another kill from Markou.
Set three remained tight early as Clarion built an 8-3 lead behind a Powell ace and kills from Kearney, Vandeborne, Haupt, and Karrick. The Rock battled back to knot the score at 9-9 and later led 15-14. Kills by Klopp and Haupt kept Clarion level at 16-16, but Slippery Rock countered with seven unanswered points to pull away for a 25-17 decision.
Clarion rebounded quickly in the fourth, turning a 4-3 deficit into an 8-5 lead behind kills from Klopp and Karrick, a Markou ace, and a Haupt-Vandeborne block. After The Rock pulled within one at 9-8, Clarion answered with an 8-3 burst to stretch the margin to 17-11. Karrick and Vandeborne teamed up for back-to-back blocks to extend the advantage to 21-13. Slippery Rock trimmed the deficit to 21-16, but late kills from Haupt, Vandeborne, and Karrick slammed the door shut on a 25-18 match-clinching victory.
