CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team won its second five-set match in as many days, holding off Edinboro 3-2 (26-24, 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 23-21) at Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday.
(Photo Courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The Golden Eagles have now won three straight conference matches.
For most of the afternoon, neither team was able to open up a sizable advantage, with that fact illustrated nowhere better than in the decisive fifth set. The Golden Eagles actually did hold something of an advantage in the final game, opening on a 4-1 run, but things quickly settled into another close set. Clarion then built a 10-7 lead, with their 4-0 run capped on a solo block by Julia Holden, but Edinboro rallied back to tie it at 13, and eventually held match point after a kill by Cierah Jackson.
The teams traded points for an eternity in the fifth set, with Taylor Braunagel tying the game at 21 with a kill. A bad set by the Fighting Scots gave Clarion the match point opportunity, and Leah Vensel made it count when she tipped the match-winning kill at 23-21.
Braunagel posted a career-high 29 kills, the ninth-best single match total in program history and the most for a Golden Eagle since Melanie Bull had 30 kills against IUP exactly 14 years ago, on Oct. 14, 2003. She also added 16 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Clarion held a big edge at the service line, out-acing Edinboro 9-4. Three of those aces came from Catherine Ferragonio, who also had a match-high 21 digs.
The Fighting Scots opened the match on a 7-1 run, but Clarion came back with a 7-0 run to take an advantage in the first set. The teams rallied back and forth, with an attack error by Vensel giving Edinboro a 24-23 advantage. The Fighting Scots committed an error of their own on the next play to give Clarion new life, and Lauryn Driscoll smashed one of her 15 kills for the match to force set point. Driscoll then blocked Jackson on the next point to take the 26-24 set win.
Edinboro held off a Clarion rally late in the second set to win 25-21, but the Golden Eagles used a 12-2 run in the third set to take the match advantage. The Fighting Scots took a 15-13 lead on an attack error by Holden and again built a 16-14 lead on a block from Sydney Trathen and Tessa Sikora. Clarion’s opening came when Ferragonio took over the serve with the set tied at 16. The Golden Eagles scored eight straight times on Ferragonio’s serve, including three kills by Braunagel. Shelby Coughenour and Kaitlyn Glaser blocked Paige Morris on set point to make it a 2-1 match lead.
SWIMMING STARTS SEASON
Men’s Recap
GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Clarion men’s swimming & diving team opened their season with a quad-meet victory on Saturday, taking first place at the Grove City Fall Classic. The Golden Eagles won with 870 team points on Saturday, besting Grove City (718), Allegheny (628.5) and Penn State – Behrend (602.5).
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the day came during the diving portion of the meet, as Cary Johns nailed the NCAA qualifying mark in the 1m Dive. Johns totaled 335.90 in the event, a new pool record at Grove City and one that will put him in line for the NCAA Championships at the end of the year.
Nathan Porter set a new personal best in the 200 Free, shaving nearly two seconds off his best with a 1:47.80 on Saturday. Likewise, Josh Thruston made his first collegiate race in the 200 Breaststroke, notching a time of 2:17.76.
In the sole relay for the Golden Eagle men on Saturday, the team of Joseph Folz, Porter, Robert Hacku and Thruston recorded a time of 3:15.83 in the 400 Free Relay.
Women’s Recap
GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Clarion women’s swimming team opened their 2017 season on the road on Saturday, competing in and winning a quad-meet hosted by Grove City. The Golden Eagles finished with 1,223 total points, defeating Allegheny (879), Grove City (564) and Penn State – Behrend (154).
Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of the day came in the 3m Dive, as three-time All-American Christina Sather clinched her spot in the 2018 NCAA Championships. Sather posted a 267.25 in the 3m Dive to punch her ticket to the big dance.
Alexis Lopez just narrowly missed out on making an NCAA “B” cut in the 50 Free on Saturday, posting a time of 24.82 in the short race that was also just shy of her best career performance. Mary Clare Smith made her collegiate debut, posting a 2:31.69 in the 200 Breaststroke and an 18:14.15 in the 1650 Free.
The sole relay team for the Golden Eagles was the quartet of Summer Dacheux, Smith, Danielle Jellison and Lopez. The completed the 200 Medley Relay in 1:51.50.
