Poughkeepsie, NY – Two week ago the Clarkson University Volleyball team led Union College 2-0, but suffered a 3-2 loss that ended up costing the team hosting rights for the Liberty League Tournament. Up 2-0 again in the tournament semifinals, the Golden Knights would not let things slip away a second time, sweeping through the Dutchwomen 25-13, 25-22, 25-17.

The Golden Knights improved to 20-14 overall, their 10th straight 20-win season. Clarkson heads to the Liberty League Championship game for the sixth straight year, making it every season since its inception in 2011.

After a slow start in which they dropped three of the first four points, the Golden Knights put together a strong offense while denying Union much of a chance on its side of the net. Clarkson rattled off six straight points to take a 7-3 lead, with two kills from Rachael Aird, two kills from Kendall Cheval and two aces from Sophia Holms. Union kept pace over the next 10 points, but Clarkson again went on a run that saw them score 13 of the final 18 points. Aird delivered six kills in the set and Cheval added five kills to help the Knights hit .297 overall (16-5-37). Clarkson's strong upfront presence and equally impressive defense forced the Dutchwomen into a flat offense where they went 6-6-41 for a .000 hitting percentage.

While Clarkson dominated the first set, Union found a bit of offense in the second set (11-4-38, .184 hitting percentage) and took advantage of some Golden Knight miscues to take an early lead. The Dutchwomen led by six points on five different occasions, including a 21-15 lead late that made it appear as if Union would even things up. However, the Knights rushed back to tie things up thanks to a Rachel Reusch kill and two more aces from the freshman. Union took a timeout, but it didn't stop the Clarkson momentum, as Aird crushed two more kills and ended the set with a block along with Jillian Saenz.

The third set was close at the start, with Union taking an 8-7 lead after a Morgan Clark kill. However, Clarkson quickly gained the lead and turned a slim 10-9 advantage into an 18-11 lead after Kendall Cheval crushed a kill to the back row. Union would climb back to within five (19-14), but an attack error and two aces from Cheval pushed the Knights up by eight. At that point it was just a matter of time before Clarkson ended the match and the Knights did so emphatically with one final kill from Aird in the middle.

Aird finished with a .500 hitting percentage, striking for 16 kills with just a single error in 30 attempts. She also scored six total blocks with one solo effort and five block assists. Cheval contributed eight kills, while Reusch and Lane each had seven kills. Kate Isaksen averaged better than eight digs per set with 25 total, and Jillian Saenz finished with 34 assists. For Union, Ally VanDoren led the team with 12 kills, but had 10 errors. Emma Sprotbery also had eight kills with a .176 hitting percentage. Amanda Price added 23 assists and 10 digs.