CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s volleyball team topped the reigning PSAC Tournament champions with an inspired four-set effort on Senior Day, defeating Shippensburg 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-18, 30-28) at Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The win helps the Golden Eagles (15-10, 9-4 PSAC) stay alive in their hunt for a spot in the PSAC Tournament as they gear up to take on Lock Haven and Pitt-Johnstown next weekend.
Mackenzie Biggs made the most of her Senior Day with a 15-kill performance, hitting .344 on the afternoon to go with four digs and a block against the Raiders. Taylor Braunagel added 11 kills and Marissa Robertson had 10 to go with 20 digs for her sixth Kill-Dig double-double of the year. Leah Vensel added 45 assists and Catherine Ferragonio had 25 digs, leading the Golden Eagles to a 90-82 edge in digs over Shippensburg.
For the second straight match Clarion excelled at the net, finishing with 9.0 team blocks compared to just 3.0 for Shippensburg. They also notched seven service aces on Saturday, with Morgan Herold totaling a match-high four aces.
Clarion bounced back from a first set loss to thoroughly control the action in the next two frames, starting with a 25-19 win in the second set. Herold aced Megan Forstburg to take an 11-7 lead and force Shippensburg into a timeout, and the senior came out of the timeout with a second consecutive ace off Forstburg. Biggs made it 21-16 with a kill, and Lauryn Driscoll mopped things up in the second set with a kill at 25-19 to tie the overall match.
The Golden Eagles opened up an even bigger lead in the third set, going ahead 14-7 on an error by Gabriella Johnson and maintaining that distance throughout. Braunagel made it 19-12 with a kill and Driscoll forced the Raiders into their second timeout of the set with a kill at 21-14. Driscoll forced set point with a kill to make it 24-17 and Braunagel closed out the set with a solo block of Maura Nolan to make it 25-18.
Things played out much more tightly in the fourth set, with Shippensburg rallying and going on a 3-0 run to take a 24-21 lead and force set point. A service error knotted things back up but the Raiders struck again, with Morgan DeFloria recording a kill. Vensel and Olivia Olson responded with a block to tie it, and Biggs tied it at 28 with a kill. Driscoll and Biggs combined to block Samantha Webber to make it 29-28 and force set point, and the duo of Driscoll and Robertson blocked Annie Goerl on match point to win it.
CROSS COUNTRY
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Clarion women’s cross country team took third place at the Go-Fast River Run at Lock Haven University Saturday afternoon with a final score of 61. The Golden Eagles will return to action Saturday, November 5th at the NCAA Regionals at Slippery Rock.
Senior Maria Snyder paced the Blue and Gold Saturday, running a final time of 24:26.3, good enough for fifth place overall. Juniors Megan Schwerzler and Haley Redmond were close behind, taking eighth and ninth place, respectively, with times of 25:01.9 and 25:15.3.
Freshman Madison Hamilton secured a 22nd overall finish with a time of 26.11.2.
Final Standings:
1. Shippensburg – 35
2. East Stroudsburg – 51
3. Clarion – 61
4. Lock Haven – 83
5. Carlow – 102
Individual Standings:
Maria Snyder 5
24:26.3
Megan Schwerzler 8 25:01.9
Haley Redmond 9 25:15.3
Maddie Hamilton 16 26:11.2
Rebecca Dudek 23 27:59.1
Rikki Brumbaugh 30 30.36.7
Danielle Tarr 31 30.66.7
Courtney Young 34 34:30.5
Nicole Young 35 34:30.6
Paola Miles 36 34:48.6
Emily Young 37 34:49.0
Jordon Miles 38 35:14.0
Katie Helwig 39 36:06.1
Jordon Collins 40 36:33.2
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s soccer team wrapped their season with a spirited effort on Senior Night, but the Golden Eagles ultimately fell by a 2-1 score to the Bloomsburg Huskies at Memorial Stadium. Clarion finishes their season with a 2-14-2 overall record.
A pair of seniors made the connection on Clarion’s first goal of the game, tying the score at 1-1 thanks to Clarion’s fourth corner kick of the first half. Anna Chamberlin possessed the ball deep into Husky territory, fighting hard and eventually earning a corner kick for the Golden Eagles in the 33rd minute. Alexa Stubenrauchlobbed the corner kick into a crowd in front of the net, with Alissa Spencer heading it into the far corner for her second tally of the season.
Spencer had another opportunity to tack on in the 60th minute after Aaliyah Odom drew a foul from Tayah Naudascher deep in Bloomsburg territory. Spencer’s free kick was just a bit too high, with the ball glancing off the crossbar and keeping the score deadlocked at 1-1.
Bloomsburg struck first in the 13th minute, intercepting a Clarion attack and turning it around to their advantage. Allie Barber rushed down the right side and sent a cross pass through traffic to Megan Callan, who potted her third goal of the year with a shot to the upper lefthand corner just past Mosi’s reach. The Huskies added another in the 82nd minute when Allie Camp took a lead pass on the right wing and drove a ball past Brigid Stermel to make it 2-1.
WOMEN’S DIVING
CLARION, Pa. – Freshman Emma Kehn currently sits in first place of the women’s three-meter dive against Colorado Mesa after day one of the CU Invite. Kehn is also currently in second place among all swimmers in the one-meter competition with a score of 244.58.
Sophomore Christina Sather also enjoyed an impressive first day, as the Mechanicsburg native currently ranks first in the women’s one-meter with a score of 246.68 and third in the three-meter with a mark of 211.80.
Also competing for the Golden Eagles are Autumn Fotta, Amanda O’Kane, and Maranda Leidwinger. Fotta and O’Kane currently occupy the fourth and fifth spots in the three-meter, while Lediwinger sits seventh in the three-meter with 168.30.
MEN’S DIVING
CLARION, Pa. – Freshman diver Cary Johns is out in front pacing the Clarion men’s swimming and diving team after the first day of competition at the CU Invitational at Tippin Natatorium. Johns currently sits in second place in the one meter dive with a score of 249.90. Johns is also currently in third place in the three-meter dive with a score of 246.23.
Mike Allison is right behind Johns in the three meter, holding down a fourth-place spot with 224.55. Allison also sits in fourth in the one-meter with 237.15.
The Golden Eagles will return to action tomorrow afternoon at Tippin.
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