CLARION, Pa. — Playing what could be their final home match of the 2026 season, the Golden Eagle volleyball team honored their seniors with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-18) sweep over California (PA) on Saturday at Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium.
Clarion had one of their best offensive matches of the season and their best in conference play to date, hitting .252 against the Vulcans with only 15 attack errors on the afternoon. Raegan Stader led the way on offense, recording 13 kills with just one error for a .414 attack percentage, while senior Taylor Haupt had a team-high 15 kills to go with 10 digs. Marisa Markou and Natalie Karrick successfully directed the 6-2 offense, dishing out 39 assists in three sets.
Saturday's match was one of the rare occasions this year where the Golden Eagles did not hold a massive advantage in blocking, with Clarion recording five team blocks to Cal's four team blocks. The serve was effective for the Golden Eagles, though, with Clarion serving up seven aces compared to the Vulcans' one.
The Golden Eagles finished the first set with six straight points from a 19-18 score, with Karrick serving the final five points in a 25-18 win. Earlier, the Golden Eagles answered a back-and-forth start with kills from Stader and Karrick to move ahead 8-5, then stayed in front through a stretch that included an Emily Klopp kill and a Haupt-Cara Vandeborne block assist. The Vulcans continued to pull even in the middle of the set, including ties at 13-13, 15-15 and 16-16, before the Golden Eagles responded with kills from Haupt, Vandeborne and Stader to keep pressure on late. After Cal got within 19-18, Stader put down a kill, Klopp added another, Karrick served two aces and Stader closed the set with a kill from Karrick.
An early 4-1 deficit in the second set gave way to a 6-0 Golden Eagles response, with a Stader kill, two Finley Kearney kills and two Lauren Fjerstad service aces moving them in front 7-4. The Golden Eagles created more separation in the middle of the set, turning an 8-7 edge into a 14-7 lead behind a Klopp kill, back-to-back Haupt kills, a Markou ace and two block-assisted Vulcans attack errors. After the Golden Eagles pushed the margin to 21-15 on another Fjerstad ace, Cal rallied to tie the set at 21-21 and later went ahead 23-22. Haupt answered with a kill to tie it at 23-23, and after a Vulcans setting error put the Golden Eagles on set point, Haupt finished the 25-23 set win off a Markou assist.
In the third set, the Golden Eagles overcame an early 2-0 deficit by winning seven of the next eight points, moving ahead 7-3 behind kills from Stader, Addy Turek and Haupt, plus a Fjerstad service ace. The Golden Eagles kept answering through the middle of the set, with Vandeborne, Klopp, Stader, Turek and Haupt all contributing points as the Golden Eagles built a 16-11 edge. Cal cut the margin to 16-15, but the Golden Eagles responded with an opponent service error and a block by Vandeborne and Klopp to push the score to 18-15. After the Vulcans stayed within 21-18, the Golden Eagles closed the set with four straight points, including a Stader kill, a Turek-Stader block and back-to-back Turek kills, to finish a 25-18 win.
Kalina Powell recorded a team-high 18 digs. Fjerstad tallied four service aces and added nine digs.
