Chicago, IL - A four-set victory over Wartburg College early Friday evening gave the Clarkson University Volleyball team its best 18-match start in program history, but a long day of travel and a top notch opponent caught up to the Golden Knights in the second match when the team dropped a decision to the University of Chicago at the Gargoyle Classic.
The Golden Knights moved to 16-3 on the season with the split, beating Wartburg 25-22, 25-15, 21-25, 25-18 and falling to Chicago 25-15, 19-25, 25-21, 25-20. The Green and Gold and will face two opponents on opposite ends of the spectrum on Saturday. Clarkson opens the morning against North Central (20-2) and then faces Buena Vista (1-20) in the early afternoon.
Against Wartburg, sophomores Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) and Megan Mahon (Irvine, CA) produced 22 and 15 kills, respectively, with Mahon hitting at a .333 clip in the match. Senior setter Jenna Stock (Johnstown, NY) was even more prolific from a percentage standpoint, recording eight kills in just 12 attempts, and adding in 39 assists, 2 aces, and 7 digs. Davanna Chetney (Fulton, NY), Alison Schroeder (Webster, NY) and Amanda Rankin (Horseheads, NY) each recorded 13 digs, while Rachel Simons (Webster, NY) had five total blocks. Mahon also had six aces in the match.
Versus Chicago, the Knights' extended day caught up to them as did Chicago's high-percentage attack. Artus had 17 kills and Stock came through with 36 assists, but Clarkson's efforts came up short against the tournament host.
"Today was a really long day and we had a lot of fun being with each other," coach Johan Dulfer said. "By the time we arrived at the gym, however, we had already endured a long day of travel in flying, driving, traffic, and finding our way around. It was all the more impressive that we came out with an abbreviated warm up and played at a very high level against a good Wartburg team. I was very happy to see that we were able to raise our level of play a notch or two. I thought that we made the most of our defensive opportunities. The numbers were not huge in the backcourt, but every time we made a big dig, we capitalized offensively. Against Chicago, we showed a little bit too much respect in the first set but rebounded great after that to win the second set. After that we played them point for point, but I felt like we ran out of steam a little bit. Their big outsides got into a flow and we were not able to counter. All in all, this was a great first day for us at a very strong tournament."
