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Knights volleyball sweeps Union to set up playoff showdown on Saturday

Posted 10/20/18

Potsdam, NY – Junior Kate Isaksen produced an impressive serving run late in the second set and then sophomore Gillian Kurtic took over offensively in the third as the Clarkson University …

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Knights volleyball sweeps Union to set up playoff showdown on Saturday

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Potsdam, NY – Junior Kate Isaksen produced an impressive serving run late in the second set and then sophomore Gillian Kurtic took over offensively in the third as the Clarkson University Volleyball team swept Union College 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 in Liberty League action Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 3-3 in the conference and 12-9 overall while Union dropped to 13-9 and 2-4. The loss knocked Union out of playoff contention, while Clarkson's match against Skidmore College on Saturday afternoon will essentially be a play-in game to the conference tournament, as the winner will gain the final playoff spot in the league's four-team post-season tournament.

In the opening set, Clarkson raced out to a 7-1 advantage but saw the lead evaporate as Union crawled back to within one (14-13) near the midway point of the set and then tied the game three times (17-17, 19-19, and 23-23). However, the Knights would never fall behind the Dutchwomen, getting block assists from Rachel Reusch and Savannah Peters for a 24th point and watching Union hit the ball into the net for the 25th point.

In set two, Clarkson doubled up the Dutchwomen at 8-4 but quickly found themselves behind by five at 16-11 following two aces by Union and two attack errors on the Clarkson side of the net. Still down by five late (21-16), Clarkson received block assists from Peters and Kurtic to return the serve to its own side, and Kate Isaksen took over, producing back-to-back aces and watching Rachel Reusch deliver a kill to tie things up at 21-21. Two more attack errors gave Clarkson the lead and kills from Reusch and Haley Aud closed out the set in Clarkson's favor.

Set three again was close through the first 20 points as the Knights edged out by just two points (11-9). Kurtic delivered back-to-back kills and a solo block from Peters put the Knights up 14-9. After a quick point by Union, Clarkson gained two more points on a ball handling error and a kill from Maddie Bredehoeft. Though Union would slip back to within three at 18-15, Kurtic made sure Clarkson would gain a sweep, scoring three more kills down the stretch for a six-point win.

Kurtic finished with a 12-1-21 line for a .524 hitting percentage, a key run as the rest of the team hit a combined .084. Maddie Bredehoeft delivered eight kills, Rachel Reusch added seven kills and six total blocks, including three solo efforts, and Savannah Peters contributed five total blocks. Kate Isaksen recorded 28 digs, 6 assists and 3 aces. Haley Aud nearly tallied a double-double in two sets with 13 assists and eight digs and Amanda Collins notched 14 assists.

Union entered the match leading the conference in hitting percentage at .237, but the Golden Knights held the Dutchwomen to an .088 percentage on Friday, Union's second-lowest number of the season. Julia Louis led the team with seven kills while Sage Shimamoto hit 6-0-10 to go along with 23 assists. Kaylee Velasquez led the team with 24 digs.