(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The Golden Eagles (13-8, 5-4 PSAC) have won two of their last three on the road and will conclude a stretch of five straight road matches next weekend.
The Golden Eagles made quick work of the Golden Rams in the first two sets, taking them by identical 25-16 scores to open up a dominant 2-0 lead in the match. The third set was much more closely fought as West Chester refused to go away quietly, erasing Clarion’s match-point late in the third set several times before a kill by Julia Holden and an ensuing error by Jillian Borgerding sealed the deal.
Holden finished with a match-high 12 kills, while teammates Aubrey Wrona and Holly Pittman each recorded eight kills. Wrona finished with a team-high 17 digs and was part of an effort that held the Golden Rams to a .109 hitting percentage.
The victory was a historic one for Herron, who is already the program’s all-time leader in wins. She becomes the first Clarion volleyball coach to top 300 wins in the history of the program.
The first set started out close, but the Golden Eagles went on a 7-1 run that was punctuated by a kill from Lauren Aichinger that made it 16-11. The onslaught continued as the Golden Eagles pushed the advantage to double-digits, with Wrona bouncing a kill at 23-13, and Lydia Leiner notching one to force set point at 24-14. Leiner also delivered the set-ender with a kill, making it 25-16 and putting the team ahead 1-0. Clarion scored the first three points of the second set and opened up a 15-9 lead on a kill by Wrona. They won the race to 20 points on a kill by Leiner, and Wrona aced Chiara Mowrey on set point to take the 2-0 match lead.
The third set was a tight one from the outset, with West Chester even briefly holding the lead at 19-18. Clarion re-claimed the advantage at 20-19 on an ace by Abigail Selfridge, and Wrona extended the lead to two points with a kill. Pittman forced match point with a block of Grace Whitney to make it 24-21, but the Golden Rams rallied to tie it. The set would not end until Holden recorded a kill to make it 28-27, and an error by West Chester on the final match point set the final deficit.
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Clarion volleyball team rebounded on Saturday with a three-set sweep on the road, giving head coach Jennifer Herron her 300th win at Clarion with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 29-27) victory over West Chester.
