Potsdam, NY - Senior Hilary Lockwood (Victor, NY) delivered the final kill and Stacy Storms (Marcy, NY) was excellent in the fourth set with seven kills as the Clarkson University Volleyball team rallied to take a five-set match win over Potsdam State on Saturday evening, 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-12, at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights moved to 20-17 overall with their third straight win and will compete in the Liberty League Tournament next weekend at Union. The Bears fell to 20-14.
Clarkson fell behind by five points in the first set, but came back to score 15 of the next 19 points to take a lead which it would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. The final four sets teetered back and forth, similar to the last match up between the two teams. Trailing by two in the final set, Clarkson scored five straight, including the final kill by Hilary Lockwood when the ball deflected off a Potsdam block and out of bounds.
"Every time we play Potsdam they show us how good defense can keep a team in a game, and Potsdam is a very good defensive team that stretched our offense to the limit," said head coach Johan Dulfer. "In the end, it came down to heart, desire, and our wish to make this a memorable night for Hilary and Stacy. We talk about battling all the time and it’s good to see that we are slowly learning how to do that. We had to dig really deep to pull this one out, and I’m very proud that we beat this very good Potsdam team."
Freshman Megan Mahon (Irvine, CA) tied a career-high with 23 kills on a busy day in which she took 64 swings. Storms was next with a season-high 13 kills, including seven in a tight fourth set. Junior Jessica Brody (Phoenix, AZ) also contributed eight kills on just 21 swings.
Junior Jenna Stock (Johnstown, NY) didn't post a kill, but she contributed 26 assists and 22 digs for the Knights, while sophomore Amanda Rankin (Horseheads, NY) had a similar day with 17 assists and 17 digs but no kills. Alison Schroeder (Webster, NY) had 35 digs defensively, while Storms, MacKenzie Cook (Syracuse, NY), and Nicole Edwards (Weiser, ID) each had three blocks. Jessica Klopp (Eden, NY) had four service aces in the span of just five points during the third set.
