WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team wrapped its weekend with a pair of three-set wins on Saturday afternoon, concluding the Atlantic Region Crossover with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-17) win over Notre Dame College and a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18) victory over West Liberty.
Conference play will start in one week, when the Golden Eagles (8-4) with Cal U.
Notre Dame College Recap
The Golden Eagles were on fire offensively against the Falcons, hitting a monstrous .358 while holding Notre Dame College to a .118 attack percentage. They also controlled the action at the net by recording six team blocks compared to just one for the Falcons.
Julia Piccolino went off for 17 kills and a .652 hitting percentage, doing all her damage on just 23 attempts while committing just two errors. Cassidy Snider added 13 kills herself, Clarion committed just 10 attack errors for the entire match. Abigail Selfridge controlled action from the back row with a team-high 16 digs, and London Fuller set 36 assists.
The first set was tight early on, with Notre Dame leading 9-8 after an ace by McKenzie Andrix. Clarion followed up with four straight points, with Lauren Aichinger punctuating the run with a kill to make it 12-9. A 5-1 run started on a kill by Snider put the Golden Eagles ahead 19-14, but Notre Dame rallied to pull even and eventually take a 22-21 lead. Snider put her foot down with back-to-back kills to put Clarion up 24-23, and an error by the Falcons gave the Golden Eagles the first set. Clarion used a 5-0 run in the second set to put distance between themselves and the Falcons, with Piccolino making it 12-5 with a kill. The set was never particularly close after that, with Amy Regrut tapping a kill to make it 22-11. Piccolino delivered the set point, taking a set from Alexa Cundy and drilling it for a kill at 25-13.
So as to leave all doubt at the doorstep, the Golden Eagle opened the third set on a 5-0 run that included an ace by Piccolino. Cambron Hampton added an ace to make it 8-2, and Clarion quickly won the race to 15 points on a kill by Aichinger. Piccolino finished things off with a kill at 25-17.
West Liberty Recap
The offense was not quite as dominant in the win over the Hilltoppers, but the Golden Eagles were still the superior team in the match against the Hilltoppers, outhitting them .252 — .125. This time it was Snider who was the offensive leader, as she recorded 17 kills and hit .417 with just two errors. Piccolino added 14 more kills in the afternoon.
Fuller was strong at the setter position, dishing out 40 assists and adding 10 digs for a double-double. Selfridge recorded a match-high 16 digs, and Fuller and Aichinger each posted three blocks.
The first two sets were as close as could be, with Clarion winning by tight 25-23 margins. The Hilltoppers led 6-2 early on, but the Eagles countered with five straight points, including an ace by Hampton and three kills by Snider that made it 7-6. West Liberty pulled ahead late in the set, going up 21-20 on a kill by Madison Clayton. The Golden Eagles scored four straight to force set point, with Aichinger and Piccolino blocking Clayton to make it 24-21. Piccolino had the kill at set point for the key win in the first game.
Clarion made up a late deficit in the second set as well, coming back from 19-17 and 20-19 gaps to take the lead on the Hilltoppers. Fuller put the Golden Eagles ahead with a kill at 21-20, and Regrut added a kill to force set point at 24-23. An error by West Liberty proved the difference in the second set, giving Clarion a 2-0 lead in the match. The Golden Eagles leaped out to an 8-3 lead in the third set and never looked back from there, never relinquishing the lead in closing out the set and the match.
