Potsdam, NY - Senior Xiao Liang (Tianjin, China) struck for seven kills in each of the first two sets and totaled 18 in the match as Vassar College had no answer for the middle hitter as the Clarkson University Volleyball team swept the Brewers in three sets, 25-22, 25-13, 25-17 to meet Union College in the Liberty League Championship game on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights, ranked 23rd in the country and first in the region, improved to 32-6 overall by taking the semifinal match, and the Brewers fell to 18-18. Union dispatched St. Lawrence in three sets earlier in the day, so Clarkson will face the Dutchwomen for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.

While Vassar played inspired volleyball in the early going, Clarkson struggled with miscues and trailed in the early going. Down by three midway through the first set, senior setter Lani Durio (Austin, TX) consistently found Liang, who delivered three straight kills to tie the score. Although the two teams traded points for a little longer, Clarkson finished off the Brewers with kills from Liang, Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) and Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA).

"Vassar had adjusted their gameplan against us significantly from the first two times we played them, and it took the entire first set to adjust," said head coach Johan Dulfer. "Once we got comfortable with what they were giving us tonight I thought we really took advantage of it. Vassar, at times, passed very well tonight, probably better than most teams have against all season. Because they are so physical and athletic we knew we would have our hands full tonight."

The second set was not as much in doubt, as Liang was featured prominently, striking for seven more kills. In the third set, Vassar looked to rally in the early going and seemed poised to perhaps push the Knights to a fourth set, but midway through the set, Clarkson turned a two-point lead into a six-point advantage. The Brewers pulled back to within two (17-15), but the Knights offense again found its groove, scoring nine straight points on five kills and a block. After a few points had Vassar pondering a comeback, Arasu drilled a ball into the back corner to end the match.

Liang dominated with 18 kills and just one error in 24 swings (.708 hitting percentage) and also added in three blocks. Arasu and Kirkemo each had nine kills and Durio led the team with 36 assists while also tossing in three kills. Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) added five kills and four blocks, and Erika Chin (Katy, TX) and Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) led the defense with 14 and 9 digs, respectively. With Clarkson's 32nd win, the Knights topped last year's record-setting win total and set a new standard for victories and winning percentage.

For Vassar, Clara Cardillo had seven kills, but also committed seven hitting errors. Rose Carmen produced 22 assists, and Chloe Hallum had 16 digs.

After splitting during the regular season, Union swept the rubber match between the Dutchwomen and St. Lawrence, winning 25-16, 25-15, 25-21.

The Dutchwomen used a couple of minor runs midway through the first two sets to take modest leads and build them into margins that could not be overcome by the Saints. Leading by just three (13-10) midway through the first, Union used a five-point run which was capped off by a Morgan Clark kill, making the score 18-10. The Dutchwomen played just ahead of even the rest of the way and held on for a 25-16 win in the first set. In the second, Union never trailed but was again up by just three (9-6) before a 7-2 run, pushed to the end by a kill from Rachel Wyman put the Dutchwomen in position to take off for another lopsided victory.

In the third set, Union was never able to come up with a run against the Saints, as the two teams seesawed back and forth throughout. It wasn't until late that Union built up a four-point lead (22-18), forcing St. Lawrence to call a timeout. An ace from Jenna Street was followed by a kill from Amanda Brooks to bring the Saints back to within one (22-21), and making Union take a timeout. That break ended the momentum for St. Lawrence, though, as Union finished off the match with a kill from Rajpreet Dhaliwal, block assists from Morgan Clark and Rachel Wyman, and then a kill in the middle of the court by Wyman to end the match.

Union hit .318 in the match, with Dhaliwal striking at a .500 clip with nine kills and Clark hitting at .600 with six kills. Clark also added in six of the Dutchwomen's 14 block assists. St. Lawrence hit only .078, struggling to get clean looks around Union's block, with Lexi Brown producing nine kills.