CALIFORNIA (Nov. 8) – In their first home match in over a month, the Vulcans suffered a 3-1 loss (28-26, 25-20, 20-25, 25-14) loss to Clarion at the Convocation Center on Friday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team drops to 11-12 this season behind a 6-9 record in league action. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles improve to 17-9 overall with a 9-5 mark in conference play. Both teams were featured in the initial Atlantic regional rankings this week, as Clarion was slotted seventh and Cal U was tabbed No. 10.

Sophomore Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) led the team with 11 kills, while three other players collected at least six kills. Freshmen Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) and Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) finished with eight and seven kills, respectively, while junior Madison Kline (Hastings, Pa./Cambria Heights) added six kills on Friday. Sophomore Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) guided the offense with 33 assists in the losing effort.

Junior Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) paced the defensive effort with 20 digs and also recorded four service aces and three blocks. Freshman Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) opened the match at libero and finished with 10 digs, while Burkey and Benson both added nine digs. Kline anchored the net with a career-high seven blocks and Howard collected five blocks in the match.

Clarion opened play with a 28-26 victory in the first set despite committing nine attack errors. The Vulcans mounted a 6-3 run early in the set to take a 10-6 lead that prompted a timeout by the Golden Eagles. The teams traded back-to-back points before Cal U won four of six points to take a 17-12 lead on a kill by Kline. The Golden Eagles then rallied off three-straight points to cut the deficit to 17-15 before the teams traded the next five points. The Vulcans later won four of five points to force set point at 24-20 on another kill by Kline. However, Clarion rallied off four-consecutive points to tie the score at 24-24 and later won four of five points to secure the 28-26 win.

The Golden Eagles took a 2-0 match lead on Friday with a 25-20 win in the second set. Clarion won four-straight points early in the set to take a 5-2 lead before Cal U tied the score at 6-6 on a service ace by Silbaugh. The Golden Eagles then seized control of the set with an 11-3 run to build a 17-9 lead that forced the Vulcans to use both timeouts. Cal U won five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 18-14 before Clarion rallied to build a 21-14 lead by claiming three-consecutive points. The Vulcans later captured four-unanswered points to trim the deficit to 22-19 on a kill by Moehring. The Golden Eagles countered by winning three of the next four points to earn the 25-20 victory.

Cal U trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with a 25-20 victory in the third set after holding Clarion to a .049 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles won four-straight points early in the set to take a 7-3 lead before the Vulcans seized control with an 11-1 run to take a 14-8 lead following three kills by Howard. Clarion responded by winning five of the next points to the cut the deficit to 15-13. Cal U then won six-unanswered points with sophomore Kiandria Cowart (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) recording three-straight blocks to take a 21-13 lead. The Golden Eagles mounted a 7-2 run before the Vulcans won back-to-back points to complete the set victory, 25-20.

The Golden Eagles completed the match victory with a 25-14 win in the fourth set after hitting at a .324 clip. Clarion won the opening four points of the set and later mounted a 5-1 run to take a 12-6 lead that prompted a timeout by Cal U. The Vulcans trimmed the deficit 13-9 behind a pair of kills by Burkey before the Golden Eagles rallied off five-straight points to take an 18-9 lead. Cal U cut the deficit to 22-14 before Clarion won the last three points of the match, 25-14.

Cal U continues its weekend homestand tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 9, when it faces Slippery Rock in PSAC Crossover play at 12 p.m.