CLARION WINS 20 GAMES FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT SEASON
Eagles extend school record for consecutive 20-win seasons

            With a 3-2 win at Edinboro Tuesday, the Clarion University women’s volleyball team won its 20th game of the season marking the sixth straight year that the Golden Eagles have won 20 or more games.

The six straight 20-win seasons is the longest streak in school history for the Golden Eagles (20-10 overall). The previous school record for consecutive 20-win seasons was four set from 1987-90.

The current 20-win season streak started in 2001 when the Clarion finished 23-16. The Eagles followed that up with a 31-5 mark in 2002, 26-10 in 2003, 29-9 in 2004 and 23-12 last year. Clarion qualified for the NCAA Division II playoff during three of those seasons (2002, 2003, 2004) finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the NCAA D-II Atlantic Region in 2002 and fourth in both 2003 and 2004.

This season, Clarion, a young team with just two seniors, has used a strong finishing kick to get to 20 wins. After a 3-0 loss to Slippery Rock Oct. 3, the Golden Eagles were sitting at 10-8. But since then, Clarion has won 10 of its past 12 matches including a 7-match win streak from Oct. 6-13.

The Golden Eagles are led by junior outside hitters Christina Steiner (Florence, KY – 346 kills, 402 digs) and Sarah Fries (Willard, Ohio – 293 kills, 243 digs), freshman middle hitter Lauren Carter (Altoona – 265 kills, 44 service aces, 122 blocks), senior middle hitter Lindsay Banner (Clarion – 263 kills, 67 blocks), junior setter Kristi Fiorillo (1,198 set assists, 2338 digs) and junior Libero Vicky Gentile (536 digs, 2nd in school history with 1,814 career digs).

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – Clarion is 3-6 in the PSAC-West and finishes the regular season at 2 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Slippery Rock on Senior Day … The Golden Eagles are still in contention for one of the eight NCAA D-II Atlantic Region playoff spots that will be awarded Nov. 5 … Clarion is coached by Jodi Pezek Burns, who is the interim head coach this season … Burns was a member of all four of Clarion’s 20-win teams from 1987-90 and is ranked second in school history in kills (1,444) and first in blocks (803). She also coached the Golden Eagles from 1995-98 and led Clarion to a 20-19 overall and 7-3 PSAC-West mark in 1997 … Overall, Clarion has 15 20-win seasons since 1983 going 484-371 (56.6 percent) during the past 24 years.    

 

Lindsay Banner

Christina Steiner