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CU Volleyball splits on Day Two of Liberty League slate

Posted 9/18/16

Rochester, NY – It looked like the Clarkson University Volleyball team was on its way to 10th straight 4-0 weekend in Liberty League pool play after a 3-0 sweep of St. Lawrence and a strong start …

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CU Volleyball splits on Day Two of Liberty League slate

Posted

Rochester, NY – It looked like the Clarkson University Volleyball team was on its way to 10th straight 4-0 weekend in Liberty League pool play after a 3-0 sweep of St. Lawrence and a strong start against Vassar, but the Brewers shocked the Golden Knights in the last match of the weekend to end Clarkson's 47-match Liberty League win streak.

The Golden Knights fell to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the Liberty League, marking their first defeat since October 2012 when the squad dropped a decision to Skidmore. Clarkson evened its all-time record against St. Lawrence at 62-62 in 124 meetings, while the loss to the Brewers ended a 17-match winning streak versus Vassar.

In the opening match of the afternoon, Clarkson handled the Saints in three straight (25-17, 25-19, 25-12) with impressive openings in the first two sets. Clarkson raced out to an 8-1 advantage in the first set and a 6-1 lead in the second set. The Knights were never really challenged in the first set, but St. Lawrence rallied from a six-point deficit (13-7) midway through the second set to take a 14-13 lead with seven straight points. However, Clarkson scored the next four points and seven of the final 10 to win the second set. The third set was the complete opposite of the first two as Clarkson held just a modest 11-9 lead through 20 points. However, Rachael Aird recorded three kills in six of the next seven points to build a comfortable lead for the Knights, and Kendal Cheval closed the match out with four kills down the stretch to cinch the win. Aird finished with 10 kills and a pair of blocks while Cheval chipped in six kills and 10 digs. Rachel Reusch produced eight kills and a pair of aces. Kate Isaksen led the way with 11 digs and Jillian Saenz recorded 30 assists and two more aces.

In the second match of the day, Clarkson claimed the first set thanks to numerous errors by Vassar down the stretch, but Vassar righted itself quickly and won the next three to take the match in four sets (18-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-21). Vassar and Clarkson were tied at 5-5 in the first set and virtually traded points as the team was still tied 17-17 thanks to nine more ties in that run. However, Clarkson got things rolling with a kill by Rachel Reusch and then an ace by Reusch, holding off the Brewers with a kill from Maddie Bredehoeft to end the set. Vassar wouldn't allow Clarkson to gain much of a lead in the final three sets, gaining a small margin in each and holding off the Knights to close out the match. Aird again scored 10 kills and a pair of solo blocks versus Vassar, hitting .346 in the match, while Reusch hit .381 with nine kills and a single error in 21 swings. Jillian Saenz tossed in 34 assists and seven digs, and Kate Isaksen scored 19 more digs.