Potsdam, NY - Senior Danielle Farabee and sophomore Rachael Aird combined for a .448 hitting percentage as middle hitters as the Clarkson University Volleyball team overcame a slow start to claim a three-set win against Colby-Sawyer College in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Potsdam, NY Regional on Friday evening.

The Golden Knights, ranked 18th in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll, improved to 28-8 on the season and will face Ithaca College in the Potsdam Regional Semifinals at 5:00 pm on Saturday. In the other semifinal, Brockport will take on Springfield, beginning at 2:30 pm.

Clarkson, the top seed in the regional, came out a little flat in its match against Colby-Sawyer, but a strong home crowd and some quick adjustments allowed the Golden Knights to sweep the Chargers in the Potsdam, NY Regional opening round (25-16, 25-15, 25-13).

Colby-Sawyer came out of the gates with no fear and kept the Golden Knights uncomforable in the early going, forcing early timeouts (7-2 and 12-5). Whatever was said during the second timeout seemed to do the trick, though, as Clarkson scored 20 of the next 24 points in the set to close with a near double-digit win. The majority of those points came on the offensive as Colby-Sawyer wasn't ready to give up quite so easily. The second set saw Clarkson trail early as well (6-3), but once again the Golden Knights discovered the extra offense when necessary, including a pair of kills from Victoria Kirkemo which ended the second set. The third set was a change of pace for the Knights as they led throughout, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the early going and cruising to a double-digit win with five straight points to close out the set, including two aces from Tara Stilwell and another ending kill from Kirkemo.

The Golden Knights enjoyed a balanced offensive effort, led by Kirkemo's nine kills (9-2-20). Middle hitters Rachael Aird (8-2-13) and Danielle Farabee (81-16) were even more efficient, combining for a .448 hitting percentage. Lauren Hutchinson also delivered seven kills and a .316 hitting percentage from the rightside as setter Kirstie Shurie found all of her options with 33 assists. Stilwell posted just six digs in the back row, mostly getting the offense going on overpasses, but she came through with five aces to help Clarkson switch the match from the service line. Kelsey McCulley led Colby-Sawyer with five kills, including four in an impressive first set, Gabrielle Rodriguez had 10 digs. Lexi Strong also had nine digs and a pair of aces for the Chargers.