CALIFORNIA (Sept. 24) – Playing their first match in over a week, the Vulcans opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play with a 3-0 loss (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) against Clarion on Friday night at the Convocation Center.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team drops to 5-5 overall while playing its sixth home match of the year. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles improve to 9-4 this fall after being tabbed second in the preseason PSAC West poll last month.

Seniors Kiandria Cowart (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) and Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) tied for the team with six kills with Moehring hitting a .312 clip. Junior Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) added five kills on a .300 hitting percentage on Friday. Junior Ashlynn Gulakowski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and senior Marley Goff (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) guided the offense with 12 and eight assists, respectively.

Sophomore Mia Thompson (Delaware, Ohio/Delaware Hayes) paced the team with nine digs while serving as the libero. Moehring collected seven digs, while Goff and freshman Allie Droneberger (North Beach, Md./Northern) each added six digs in the loss. Cowart recorded a pair of blocks against Clarion and finished with a team-best 7.5 points.

The Vulcans were limited to only five kills while dropping the opening set by a 25-19 count. Cal U held a 5-1 lead before Clarion won four of five points to cut the deficit to 6-5. The Vulcans later won back-to-back points before the Golden Eagles mounted a 6-1 run to seize a 14-11 lead and forced a timeout. Clarion collected three-straight points to stretch the lead to 18-13 before Cal U worked the deficit to 21-19. However, Clarion rallied off four-straight points to claim the 25-19 victory.

Clarion committed just two attacking errors and hit at a staggering .483 clip while posting a 25-16 win in the second set. The Golden Eagles won four of the initial five points and later collected three-straight points to take an 8-4 lead. The Vulcans countered by recording four of six points to trim the deficit to 12-9 on a kill by Moehring. Clarion responded with a 6-2 run to extend the lead to 18-11 before the teams traded the next five points. The Golden Eagles sealed the set by posting a 5-2 run to earn a 25-16 victory.

The teams combined for six ties and two lead changes in the third set with Clarion completing the match victory with a 25-19 win. The Vulcans won back-to-back points to take an early 5-4 lead before the Golden Eagles won the next three points. Cal U later tied the score at 9-9 before Clarion claimed three-straight points to force a timeout. The Golden Eagles later mounted an 8-3 run to seize a 20-14 lead before the teams traded back-to-back points four times with Clarion eventually posting the 25-19 win.

Cal U returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 25, when it travels to face Edinboro at 4 p.m.