Potsdam, NY – A diverse attack and a solid serving game kept Vassar off balance most of the afternoon and the Clarkson University Volleyball team recorded a four-set win over the Brewers on Senior Day, winning 25-14, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16 at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 15-7 overall and 6-1 in the Liberty League, while Vassar fell to 20-5 overall and 5-2 in conference games. Clarkson tied for the regular-season title at 6-1, but Ithaca won the tiebreaker with the head-to-head victory in the matchup between the two teams two weeks ago, allowing Ithaca to receive home court for the conference tournament on November 3-4.

Both the first and fourth set were close midway through the games, but each time the Knights found another gear on offense to run away with each. In the opener, Clarkson led just 13-11 at the halfway point, but three errors from Vassar were followed by three straight kills by the Knights, coming from Kendall Cheval, Savannah Peters, and from Cheval again to make it 19-11. One more error gave the Knights a nine-point advantage and the Knights cruised to the win.

The second set was lopsided at the start, but became close at the end due to a strong run of serving. It was Rachel Reusch's serving that put the Knights up 15-4 as she scored aces on the eighth, 10th, 11th, and 13th points. However, after her time at the service lien was over, Vassar was able to get back into the game, making it 18-13. Bria Corham put the Knights on their heels for a while, getting the Brewers to within two at 19-17. A few moments later, a kill from Devan Gallagher made the score 23-22, but Clarkson would not allow the set to be tied, as Peters scored a kill and then teamed with Rachael Aird on a block to end the set.

In set number three with the score tied at 7-7, the Knights went into a funk that allowed Vassar to pull away. Six errors in a stretch of 10 points gave Vassar a 16-8 lead, an advantage they would maintain all the way until the 23-15 point in the set. Down by five (24-19), Clarkson picked up kills from Cheval and Peters to get within three, but an attack error ended any hopes of a comeback.

The two teams traded points throughout the start of the fourth set and were still knotted up at 14-14 midway through the game. A kill from Gillian Kurtic started a Clarkson streak that would go for seven more points to give the Knights a 22-14 edge. Two kills and a solo block from Rachael Aird highlighted the run, which was capped off by another kill from Rachel Reusch. With a solid advantage so late in the set, the Knights were able to cruise to a nine-point win.

Kendall Cheval led Clarkson on offense with 13 kills against three errors in 39 swings, while Savannah Peters added in 10 kills. Rachel Reusch's usage was limited, but she still finished with eight kills and four aces. The same could be said for Racheal Aird, whose primary contributions came at the net where she finished with five blocks, including four solo efforts. Kate Isaksen picked up 34 assists and three aces and Meghan Edmund also produced 16 digs. Jillian Saenz and Amanda Collins split setting duties, recording 23 and 11 assists, respectively.

For Vassar, Devan Gallagher had a match-high 15 kills, but she also had 12 errors in 78 attempts. Gallagher also recorded 17 digs and three block assists, with the latter figure matched by Colette Cambey, who also added in 10 kills. Anna Zucchero picked up 28 digs and Annie MacMillan had 35 assists and 17 digs. Vassar entered the match with the top offense in the Liberty League, but the Knights were able to hold the Brewers to just a .046 hitting percentage (39-31-174).