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Clarkson University Athletics

ClarksonwestfieldNCAA13

Women's Volleyball November 21, 2013

Knights Topped by Cal Lutheran in NCAA Quarterfinals

Lani Durio had 30 assists and 10 digs against Cal Lutheran on Thursday
Holland, MI – Despite one of its finest defensive efforts of the season, the 22nd-ranked Clarkson University Volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a four-set loss (25-20, 21-25, 29-27, 25-13) to third-ranked Cal Lutheran in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals.

The Golden Knights finished off their season at 36-7 overall, seeing a 19-match winning streak come to an end. Cal Lutheran advanced to the NCAA Division III Semifinals, improving to 34-1 overall.

Cal Lutheran-Clarkson Press Conference

The first set began with back-to-back service errors as the teams showed some early-match jitters, but Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) came in to help Clarkson score four straight points. The Golden Knights then saw their lead grow to as many as four and shrink to as few as one through the opening timeout (15-13 lead for Clarkson). The Knights led 18-15 when Cal Lutheran scored seven straight points, sparked by three straight kills from AVCA First-Team All-American Kylie McLogan, switching the Regals into the lead 22-18. The Knights battled back to within three on two occasions, but a kill from McLogan ended the set, 25-20.

Five different players had at least two kills for Clarkson as Lani Durio (Austin, TX) recorded 10 assists, but the most impressive thing about the first set for the Golden Knights was their defensive effort, as Erika Chin (Katy, TX) and Kirstie Shurie provided the Green and Gold with numerous second chances with solid digs from all angles. For the Regals, Kylie McLogan had eight kills in just 14 swings, but the rest of Cal Lutheran had four kills against three errors in 21 swings. Cal Lutheran had six total blocks with a solo and 10 assists.

The two teams traded points back and forth throughout the third set, as Clarkson enjoyed a two-point lead on a couple of occasions and Cal Lutheran led by as many as three points late, but more often than not the teams were tied. On fourteen separate occasions, Clarkson and the Regals were knotted up, but it was following the 14th tie that Clarkson began to pull away. Clarkson scored the final six points of the set, and with the score tied 21-21, Xiao Liang (Tianjin, China recorded three straight kills on swings of all variety and the Knights picked up the last point of the set on a hitting error by the Regals to tie the match at one set apiece.

Durio picked up 14 more assists in the second set and Adrienne Walker added five more kills to increase her match total to nine. Walker and Lauren Hutchinson (Spring, TX) combined to block the seemingly unstoppable Kylie McLogan to help break one of the ties as well.

In the third set, Cal Lutheran jumped out to a three-point edge to start, but Clarkson slowly rallied back and took the lead on block assists from Lauren Hutchinson and Danielle Farabee (Katy, TX) at 8-7. However, the lead was short-lived, as the Regals rattled off five straight points before a Lauren Hutchinson kill finally stopped the run. Unfortunately, the Knights could not pull any closer than three points and found themselves trailing by seven with a set point for Cal Lutheran (24-17). From that point, the Knights offense found a groove, getting huge kills from Xiao Liang, Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO), and Danielle Farabee to rally all the way back to tie the score 24-24. Clarkson took the lead on a Kirkemo kill on the next point, but found themselves back down a point after a net violation and a double touch. A kill from Liang tied the score up at 26-26 and the two teams were tied again at 27-27, but block assists and a ball-handling error gave the third set to Cal Lutheran.

Kirstie Shurie ran the offense in the third set, providing eight kills each for Liang and Kirkemo. Chin also added in 10 more digs as Clarkson once again kept numerous points alive, especially when trailing late.

Perhaps disappointed from the loss in the middle set, the fourth set saw Clarkson trail early and the set got out of hand quickly. Trailing by five (8-3), the Knights took a timeout, but it did little to slow the Regals down. Picking up two straight points on errors, Cal Lutheran gained six more straight points and edged out to 18-6. From that point, the teams essentially traded points until the Regals earned the fourth set victory.

Liang and Kirkemo each recorded 14 kills in the match for the Knights, while Walker recorded 11 kills with no errors in 21 swings. Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) and Hutchinson also tossed in eight kills. Kirkemo recorded a double-double with 14 digs as well, while Durio and Shurie also each recorded double-doubles. Durio had 30 assists and 10 digs, while Shurie produced 18 assists and 15 digs, scoring on a pair of aces as well. Chin led the team with 27 digs.

For Cal Lutheran Kylie McLogan had a match-high 22 kills and also added 16 digs. Allie Eason had 12 kills, 19 digs, and three block assists, and Jackie Russell led the offense with 38 assists. Overall, the Regals had 14 blocks, with one solo effort and 26 block assists.
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