LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- Clarion volleyball rallied from set deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to earn a thrilling 3-2 (13-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 16-14) road victory over Lock Haven on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinal round of the PSAC Tournament at Thomas Field House.
With the win, the Golden Eagles advance to the PSAC Semifinals after overcoming a slow start to subdue the Bald Eagles in five sets. Clarion's comeback hinged largely on aggressive serving in the fourth set, which stabilized the squad after a third-set loss put them on the brink of elimination. By keeping Lock Haven out of system, the Golden Eagles neutralized the Bald Eagles' quick tempo offense and established a dominant physical block at the net.
Taylor Haupt paced the Clarion attack with a team-high 14 kills while adding 16 digs to record her 17th double-double of the season. Cara Vandeborne anchored the net defense with seven total blocks to go along with five kills, while Emily Klopp tallied five kills and six blocks. The setting duo of Natalie Karrick and Marisa Markou directed the offense, combining for 37 assists.
Lock Haven seized control early in the opening frame, claiming seven of the first nine points to force an early Clarion timeout following a kill by Gracelynn Wolzen. The Bald Eagles extended their advantage to 10-4 on a down-the-line tip from Reagan Irons. Raegan Stader terminated a long rally to pull Clarion within 12-6, but Lock Haven answered with three consecutive points to force the Golden Eagles' second timeout at 15-6. Finley Kearney bounced a kill out of the break, and tough serving from Lauren Fjerstad trimmed the deficit to six.
Kearney and Klopp teamed up to stuff Madelyn Mitchell for a block, and Vandeborne deflected a long attack to make it 17-11. However, Lock Haven's offensive pace proved too much to overcome in the opener, as the hosts claimed the first set 25-13.
Clarion found its footing early in the second set, as Klopp notched two kills in a three-point span to pull the Golden Eagles within 5-4. Karrick and Vandeborne deadlocked the frame at 5-5 with a block, and after Lock Haven briefly reclaimed the lead, Haupt pulled Clarion even again with a service ace. Back-to-back Bald Eagle errors handed Clarion a 9-8 edge, and consecutive kills by Kearney and Stader pushed the lead to 11-8, forcing a Lock Haven timeout.
The Bald Eagles halted the run with a kill at 13-9, but a pair of blocks by Klopp and Kearney extended the Clarion cushion to 16-11. The Golden Eagles stretched the margin to 20-14 following a Lock Haven service error. Kearney brought up set point with a left-handed tip at 24-18, and Fjerstad painted the back line with a float-serve ace to level the match at one set apiece.
The third frame featured tightly contested play through the first 20 points, leaving the teams knotted at 10-10. Lock Haven used back-to-back points and two Clarion attack errors to build a 14-10 cushion, later stretching the lead to 17-11 behind a solo block from Avery Smith. Klopp helped stem the tide on consecutive rallies, pairing with Vandeborne for a block before smashing a free ball to cut the deficit to 17-14.
Lock Haven pushed the score to 20-16 on a kill by Payton Stanton and reached 22-17 before a Bald Eagle error and a Clarion block sparked a late push. Kearney hammered a kill to trim the margin to 22-20, but Lock Haven responded with two straight points before Olivia Taylor sealed the 25-20 set win with an ace, putting the hosts ahead 2-1.
Facing elimination in the fourth set, Clarion surged to a 4-1 start sparked by a kill and two block assists from Klopp. Klopp clipped the corner on a cross-court swing to make it 5-2, and Kalina Powell fired back-to-back service aces to maintain the pressure. Markou followed with two consecutive aces of her own to balloon the lead to 10-3. After Lock Haven pulled within 13-7, a Bald Eagle error and a Fjerstad ace forced a Lock Haven timeout with Clarion leading 16-7.
Lock Haven strung together three straight points out of the huddle, but Haupt responded with consecutive kills to halt the surge. Haupt added another kill to push Clarion to the 20-point mark, and Vandeborne stuffed Stanton for a solo block to make it 21-14. A Bald Eagle service error brought up set point at 24-16, and a Lock Haven net violation four points later clinched the 25-19 frame for Clarion.
Kayden McKinney opened the decisive fifth set with a kill, and Kearney followed with a strike to the back line for a 2-1 lead. Haupt delivered back-to-back kills—tooling the block before dropping a soft tip—to make it 4-2, and Karrick pushed the advantage to 6-3 with a tip over the block that forced a Lock Haven timeout. Karrick and Vandeborne combined for a block to double up the hosts at 8-4, though Lock Haven clawed back within 9-8.
After trading points, Kearney tipped a shot over the block to put Clarion up 11-9. Powell dropped an ace onto the back line and followed with a sprawling dig to keep a rally alive, setting up a Karrick kill that gave Clarion match point at 14-9. Lock Haven saved five consecutive match points to knot the score at 14-14, but Haupt broke the deadlock with a kill off the block before firing a down-the-line winner to seal the 16-14 victory.
