ERIE, Pa. – The Golden Eagle volleyball team took a set off one of the best teams in the nation and nearly forced a fifth, but Clarion ultimately fell in a tight 3-1 (13-25, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25) bout at Gannon on Saturday afternoon.

Clarion (10-6, 2-2 PSAC West) put a scare into the Golden Knights, who are receiving votes in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.

Both teams played strong defense on the afternoon, with Clarion holding an 8-7 advantage in team blocks while Gannon led the match 75-72 in digs. Amy Regrut was the leader at the net for Clarion with four blocks, while the Golden Knights’ Emma Hall had 20 digs. Abigail Selfridge led either squad with 26 digs on the afternoon.

Offensively, Julia Piccolino found a strong rhythm against the Golden Knights, finishing with a match-high 17 kills. Cassidy Snider added a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, and setter London Fuller added her own with 41 assists and 15 digs. Regrut finished with eight kills and hit .273.

The first set was tight early on, but Gannon used runs of 4-0 and 8-0 to pull away with a 25-13 set victory. Clarion responded by pulling away late in the second set, by first coming back from a 21-18 deficit. Kills by Lauren Aichinger and Snider made it 21-20, and Snider eventually tied the set at 22 with a kill. Piccolino kicked off what would be a set-ending 3-0 run with a kill, with Fuller and Snider adding tallies to make it 25-23.

Gannon responded by rallying from an 18-16 deficit in the third set, tying the score at 20 on a kill by Ashley McClung and taking the lead on a kill by Ashley Kerestes. That sparked a 3-0 run, and Emma Hall made it 24-21 with an ace. The Golden Knights took the set 25-22 on a Clarion error. The Golden Eagles jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set and held a 17-15 lead, but Gannon scored eight of the next nine points to take the lead en route to a 25-21 win.