GOLDEN EAGLES EARN NCAA VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT BID
For the fourth time in the past five seasons, the Clarion University women’s volleyball team has qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The Golden Eagles (20-11) will play Kutztown (23-7) at 5 p.m. Thursday at Lock Haven University in the Atlantic Region first round. Clarion is the fifth seed in the tournament while Kutztown is the fourth seed.
“I am very happy for the team,” interim head coach Jodi Pezek Burns said. “With everything they have gone through this year this is a great reward for them. We have really come together as a team over the past month or so, and the players have worked hard all year.”
EAGLES 10-3 SINCE OCT. 6
It has really been a tale of two seasons for Clarion.
On Oct. 3 the Golden Eagles were sitting at 10-8 and had lost seven of their previous 10 matches.
But starting with the Clarion Days Inn Tournament Oct. 6-7, Clarion won 10 of its final 13 matches including victories over NCAA Tournament bound California and IUP.
“I think it took us a little longer to come together as a team because I didn’t become the coach until right before preseason practice started,” Burns said. “It took me a while to learn the players’ strengths and to find the right mix. It also took the players a little bit of time to adjust to my coaching style. I think if we had been together a little longer, things would have come together quicker.
“We have played some of our best volleyball of the season down the stretch, and we are looking forward to having a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament.”
SECOND MEETING OF THE SEASON FOR CLARION-KUTZTOWN
Clarion and Kutztown are familiar with each other with the Golden Bears knocking off the Golden Eagles 3-0 (23-30, 24-30, 19-30) in a PSAC-Crossover at Lock Haven Sept. 23.
“We didn’t play very well in that match,” Burns said. “At the same time, Kutztown is a very good team as evidence by them winning the PSAC-East. This will be a challenging match for us, but our players are looking forward to it.”
The first time the teams met, Dani Witherite (11 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces) led Kutztown, while Sarah Brandon (16 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces), Austin Kinney (34 assists, 12 digs) and Erin Waters (8 kills, 3 blocks) also played key roles.
Clarion was led in the match by Christina Steiner (8 kills, 12 digs), Lauren Carter (8 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs), Lindsay Banner (7 kills, 3 blocks), Vicky Gentile (17 digs) and Kristi Fiorillo (28 assists, 6 digs). The Golden Eagles hit just .122 in the match.
“We will have to play better than we did the first time against them if we are going to win,” Burns said. “I expect us to play better, though. The first time we played them, we were still learning who we were.”
STEINER, FRIES, BANNER, CARTER LEAD EAGLES OFFENSE
On offense, Clarion is paced by Steiner (Florence, KY) and Sarah Fries (Willard, Ohio), both junior outside hitters, Banner (Clarion), a senior middle hitter, and Carter (Altoona/Bellwood-Antis), a freshman middle hitter.
Steiner leads the team with 363 kills (3.27 per game) and is second in digs (412 (3.71 per game). She ranks 17th in a single season in Clarion history in kills and 19th in digs, while accounting for 846 career kills (14th most in school history).
Fries ( is second on the team in kills with 306 (2.78) and third in digs with 253 (2.30).
Banner is fourth in kills with 270 (2.39) and second in blocks with 73 (0.65), while Carter is third in kills with 278 (2.55) and leads the team in blocks with 124 (1.14) and service aces with 45 (0.41).
FIORILLO 2ND IN PSAC IN ASSISTS
Fiorillo (Meadville), a junior setter, sets the offense up with 1,245 set assists (11.42 per game), the second best per game average in the PSAC. She is adding 232 digs (2.13) and 50 kills (0.46). She ranks ninth in a season in school history in set assists and her 1,392 career set assists puts her seventh all-time in school history.
GENTILE 2ND IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN DIGS
Gentile (Euclid, Ohio), a junior Libero, is the leader of the defense with 559 digs (5.04 per game), while senior defensive specialist Jenn Sacco (Cochranton) also plays a key role with 209 digs (2.35).
Gentile is second in school history in digs with 1,837 and her 559 this year ranks fifth all-time in a season at Clarion. She was an All-Region selection as a freshman.
Sacco ranks 12th all-time in school history with 994 digs and needs six to become just the 11th player at Clarion to record 1,000 career digs.
BRANDON, WITHERITE, KINNEY PACE KUTZTOWN
Brandon leads Kutztown’s offense with 435 kills (4.39 per game) while ranking second in blocks (1.30 per game). She is adding 117 digs (1.18).
Witherite is second on the team in kills with 291 (3.13) and second in digs with 434 (4.67).
Kinney runs the offense with 970 set assists (10.66 per game) while adding 332 digs (3.65).
Nicole Biuso is the leader on defense with 464 digs (4.64 per game).
GOLDEN EAGLES NOTES – The winner of the Kutztown-Clarion match plays the winner of the Lock Haven-North Carolina Central match Friday … Clarion made three straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances from 2002-2004 going 0-3 … In 2002, the Golden Eagles lost to Lees-McRae 3-2 and in 2003, Clarion fell again to Lees-McRae 3-0. In 2004, the Eagles dropped a 3-0 decision to East Stroudsburg in the opening round … This is Clarion’s fourth ever NCAA Tournament appearance … With 20 wins this season, Clarion has won at least 20 games for a school-record six straight years … The Golden Eagles are 152-63 (.707) during that stretch with the four NCAA Tournament appearances … Burns is one of the greatest players in school history and ended her career first in school history in kills in both a career (1,444) and season (522) and blocks in both a career (803) and a season (351). She is still the school record holder in blocks in a career and season and she ranks second in career kills and fourth in single-season kills … Burns replaced Tracey Fluharty, who left over the summer. Fluharty led Clarion to the previous three NCAA Tournament bids.
S - Kristi Fiorillo
MH - Lindsay Banner
DS - Jenn Sacco
OH - Christina Steiner