Knights Drop Pair of Matches at Nazareth Invitational

Rochester, NY - Mechanical difficulties in transportation combined with formidable opponents made for a tough Friday evening for the Clarkson University Volleyball team as the Golden Knights dropped a three-set decision to #19 Mount Union and were then later beaten in five sets against Nazareth.

The Golden Knights moved to 4-2 on the season and face a pair of SUNYAC foes on Saturday afternoon in Fredonia and Cortland to close out the Nazareth Invitational.

Due to a trouble with the bus headed down to the Rochester area, the Golden Knights barely made their opening match against 2011 NCAA participant and 19th-ranked Mount Union. Clarkson played well in the opening set, but eventually dropped it in extra points. The adrenaline clearly wore off against Mount Union as the Knights fell in the final two sets, losing 29-27, 25-13, 25-19. Freshman Danielle Farabee (Katy, TX) played well with 11 kills and only two errors in 22 swings, while Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) had 10 kills, 7 digs and 2 aces. Lani Durio (Austin, TX) had 22 assists and Erika Chin (Katy, TX) led the defense with 14 digs.

Able to take a breather between matches, Clarkson took Nazareth into the waning points in each of the first two sets, falling 27-25 and 25-23. However, the Knights rallied to take the next two sets 25-19 and 25-21, forcing a fifth set against the tournament’s host. In the deciding set, the Golden Flyers won five of the first six points, but Clarkson came back to tie the score with four straight points and the two teams traded tallies back and forth before Nazareth pushed ahead by four with five consecutive points (12-8). From there, the Golden Flyers held on for the win 15-13.

Senior Bailey Walker (Centennial, CO) had her best match at Clarkson with 17 kills in only 30 swings with a .400 hitting percentage. Farabee, Kirkemo, and Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) each reached double figures in kills as well. Durio added 36 assists and Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) tossed in 24 assists as well. Chin again led the defense with 19 digs, while Kirkemo and Shurie each had double-doubles, producing 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Shurie was most impressive behind the serving line with seven aces.

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