CORTLAND -- After dropping the first set of the day to Buffalo State, the Clarkson University Volleyball team pounded the Bengals in three straight sets to earn an afternoon win in its first match, but the Golden Knights came up against national powerhouse Juniata College in the last match of the day and fell in four sets to close out the Red Dragon Invitational.

The 23rd-ranked Golden Knights moved to 2-2 on the season and will take on Potsdam State on Wednesday at Maxcy Hall.

After nearly finishing off the opening day with a perfect record, the Golden Knights came out flat against Buffalo State, a team that nearly received an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament in 2012. But after a tough opening set, the Knights held the Bengals to just 15 points per set on average the rest of the way, winning 17-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-12.

Sophomore Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) had 15 kills and junior Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) followed with 13 kills. Sophomore Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) tossed in eight kills and 21 digs as well.

Senior setter Lani Durio (Austin, TX) had 35 assists and seven digs, while the Clarkson defense showed plenty of depth with Erika Chin (Katy, TX) and Kristen Orlandini (Fairport, NY) contributing 27 and 10 digs, respectively.

Not dodging any tough opponents at the Red Dragon Invitational, the Knights next took on 20th-ranked Juniata College in one of the final matches of the tournament. The Knights split the first two sets with Juniata, the opposition turned on the jets late and won the final two sets against an exhaused Clarkson squad, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-15.

Victoria Kirkemo produced 11 kills while Walker and Arasu each had nine kills. Durio again had 35 assists, while Chin, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led the team with 18 digs.

"I thought we started the day sluggish, but a lot of that had to do with how much energy we spent yesterday against Mount Union and Richard Stockton," said Clarkson head coach Johan Dulfer.

"We simply ran out of juice in that hot gym. It takes a lot of energy to play back-to-back matches on consecutive days against four very good opponents. It was by design that we didn't get a break, but that doesn't mean it's easy. It's something that we have to learn to get better at overall. As a coaching staff we are so excited about the possibilities of this team if they keep progressing the way they have so far in the early going."