JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The Golden Eagle volleyball team got off to a hot start on the road, defeating Pitt-Johnstown 3-1 (26-24, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17) in PSAC West action on Friday. The Golden Eagles totaled 15 service aces and 12 blocks while holding the Mountain Cats to a .110 hitting percentage.
Clarion was dominant at the service line, with their season-high 15 aces marking the fifth time this season that they've logged double-digit aces and their second in a four-set match.
Taylor Haupt and
Marisa Markou each served up four aces while
Natalie Karrick had three aces.
The Golden Eagles erased a 23-19 deficit in the first set by winning seven of the final eight rallies, using a block from
Emily Klopp and
Finley Kearney, a
Taylor Haupt kill, two
Kalina Powell aces and a
Marisa Markou ace to take the first set 26-24. Earlier, the Golden Eagles answered a 3-0 start by the Mountain Cats with service aces from Haupt and
Raegan Stader to pull even at 4-4. The Mountain Cats later moved ahead 16-11, but the Golden Eagles worked back behind kills from Stader and Kearney, then got a
Natalie Karrick ace to cut the margin to 17-15.
Lauren Fjerstad added a service ace and
Taylor Haupt followed with a block during a stretch that tied the set at 19-19, setting up the Golden Eagles' late response after the Mountain Cats briefly pushed back in front.
In the second set, the Golden Eagles erased an early 3-0 deficit and took control, using kills from
Raegan Stader and
Cara Vandeborne, a
Natalie Karrick service ace and Mountain Cats errors to move ahead 7-5. After the Mountain Cats got within 8-6, the Golden Eagles created more separation behind
Finley Kearney and
Taylor Haupt kills, Kearney's block involvement and a Vandeborne finish that made it 15-7. The Golden Eagles kept answering sideouts in the middle of the set, with
Natalie Karrick scoring off
Marisa Markou's assist and
Raegan Stader adding another kill for a 20-12 lead. Karrick added another ace,
Emily Klopp and Kearney combined on a block to bring the Golden Eagles to set point, and Klopp finished the frame with a kill from Karrick for a 25-15 set win.
The third set saw the Golden Eagles push ahead in the middle, turning a 10-7 deficit into a 14-11 lead behind an
Emily Klopp kill, a
Marisa Markou service ace, a
Natalie Karrick kill and a block from Vandeborne and
Raegan Stader. Stader added another kill to make it 15-12, and the Golden Eagles later stretched the margin to 20-15 with points that included a
Finley Kearney kill and a
Lauren Fjerstad kill. The Mountain Cats answered with five straight points to tie the set at 20-20, but the Golden Eagles responded with a Vandeborne-Klopp block, a
Taylor Haupt kill and a Karrick kill to move back in front at 23-22. The Mountain Cats scored the final three points, closing the set with a service ace for a 25-23 win.
Taylor Haupt put down a kill from
Marisa Markou to help the Golden Eagles turn an early 2-0 deficit into control of the fourth set with seven straight points, before serving the next six points, including two aces, a
Natalie Karrick-Vandeborne block and kills by Markou and Karrick. The Mountain Cats broke the run, but the Golden Eagles continued to answer with kills from Karrick,
Raegan Stader and
Finley Kearney before a Vandeborne-
Emily Klopp block and a Haupt kill moved the lead to 13-7. After the Mountain Cats got back within 13-8, a service error returned the ball to the Golden Eagles, and Markou's serve carried a run that included two aces and two more Haupt kills for a 19-8 advantage. The Golden Eagles stayed in front late with kills from Stader, Kearney and Klopp, the last from
Kalina Powell to reach set point at 24-15, before a Mountain Cats service error ended the fourth set at 25-17.
Finley Kearney recorded nine kills on 11 attacks with no errors, hit .818 and added six total blocks.
Taylor Haupt finished with 17 digs, four service aces and seven kills.
Marisa Markou tallied 20 assists, four service aces and five digs.
Raegan Stader led the Golden Eagles with 11 kills and added three digs.
