SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock volleyball team took the opening two sets of Tuesday night's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Northwest Division contest, but the Golden Eagles rallied back to claim the final three games on the way to a 3-2 victory at Morrow Field House.
 
The loss drops The Rock's record to 7-12 overall and 2-5 in PSAC competition. Clarion exits Morrow Field House with a 12-7 overall record and 4-3 mark in conference play. Five of the last nine sets in which SRU has lost over its past three matches have been decided by two points.
 
As has been the case for each of Slippery Rock's last four conference contests, Tuesday's match was a back-and-forth bout that featured several great rallies and momentum shifts, resulting in a tight match that was either teams to win all the way to the last point.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock posted a quality .225 attack percentage which was its fourth highest percentage of the season. SRU also registered 11 total blocks, its third highest amount of rejections in 2019.
 
Sophie Varndell and Kaley Fucci led The Rock attack on Tuesday. Varndell turned in an 18-kill, five-block performance while Fucci tallied a double-double of 15 kills, 17 digs and two blocks. 46 of Varndell's 124 kills in 2019 have come over The Rock's last three matches. Fucci's 15-kill effort moved her into a tied with Abigail Koeller for first on the team in kills this season with 134.
 
Koeller was the third Rock player to finish with a double-digit kill total after compiling 12 in addition to 13 digs. Varndell, Fucci and Koeller combined for a solid .220 attack percentage.
 
Erinn Kahoe's presence continues to be felt as the junior came up with a team-high six blocks (one solo / five assisted) as well as five kills in what was just her fifth match of the year. Abigail Nigon (four block assists), Zoe Rivet (one) and Koeller (one) all tallied block assists on the night as well while Stephanie O'Donnell, who was making her collegiate debut Tuesday, gave SRU a solo block.
 
Rivet continued what has been a solid senior campaign with 50 assists, 16 digs, three kills and one ace in addition to her aforementioned block. Libero Stephanie Jacobsen went over the 20-dig plateau for a third straight match with 22.
 
The Golden Eagles appeared poised to take the opening set after a 3-0 run gave Clarion a 22-21 lead and forced an SRU timeout, but The Rock came out of the break to score four of the next five points to earn a 25-23 victory.
 
The second set was very similar to the opener, as Clarion once again used a late surge to force a Slippery Rock timeout only for SRU to once again respond out of the halt in action with four of the next five points en route to a 25-21 victory.
 
A three-set sweep seemed all but assured for Slippery Rock after a block by Fucci and Nigon gave SRU a 24-22 edge in the third set. However, Clarion began a fierce rally that resulted in the Golden Eagles scoring four straight points to keep the match alive with a 26-24 win.
 
SRU overcame an early 11-4 deficit in the fourth set to force an 18-18 tie with Clarion before the Golden Eagles went on a 7-2 run to pull off a 25-20 triumph that forced the match to a fifth and deciding set.
 
Clarion once again darted out to an 11-4 lead in the final set that proved to be insurmountable for The Rock as CU was content to trade points with SRU for the remainder of the night on the way to an eventual 15-7 match-deciding win.
 
Julia Holden, the nation's leader in kills per set, led Clarion to the win with 26 kills. The Golden Eagles also served nine aces and ended the match with a .191 attack percentage.
 
Tuesday's match also served as The Rock's annual Dig for the Cure match. All proceeds raised on the night will go directly to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition. SRU has raised over $27,000 for breast cancer research and treatment over the last 13 Dig for the Cure events.
 
Slippery Rock will now embark on a four-match road trip beginning 7 p.m. Friday at West Chester University.
 
 

To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics), Instagram (RockAthletics) and Snapchat (@RockAthletics).