Potsdam, NY – Senior Jenna Stock (Johnstown, NY) produced another solid all-around match with 35 assists, 11 digs, 5 kills, and 4 aces for the Clarkson University Volleyball team as the Golden Knights swept Potsdam State 25-16, 25-16, 25-17 Tuesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 14-2 overall, winning their six straight match and continuing to equal the best start in program history. The Bears fell to 4-18 on the year.
Clarkson came out flat in the first set, suffering through mistakes that it hadn’t made all season long. However, strong runs of serving from Jenna Stock and Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) ended with five aces and a seven-point lead late in the set. From there, the Knights were able to close out with a nine-point edge.
The second set again saw the Knights untracked early on, but the Clarkson hitters found a rhythm midway through the match which Potsdam couldn’t counter. Freshman Courtney Haines (Crestview, FL) had four kills in seven swings, senior MacKenzie Cook (Syracuse, NY) had three kills in just four swings, and Megan Mahon (Irvine, NY) recovered from three errors early in the set to produce five kills on five straight swings.
The third set was much the same as the two teams were tied midway before the Knights put their feet down and accelerated to the finish.
“This week is a particularly stressful week between our academic schedules and our big trip coming up this weekend, and in a week like that any win is a good win,” said head coach Johan Dulfer. “I didn’t think we played great tonight, but we took care of business on our home court. I thought the difference was the serve-pass game. Potsdam put a lot of pressure on us early by serving really tough, but once our passing solidified we did a great job taking care of business.”
Mahon led the team with 13 kills, recording at least three in each set, while Haines finished with nine kills and no errors in 16 swings and Stock had five kills and no errors in 11 swings. Artus wasn’t quite as efficient, but she still finished with eight kills and two errors in 24 attempts to go along with three aces.
Defensively, the Knights were led by Alison Schroeder (Webster, NY) with 15 digs, though it was a well-rounded effort as usual. Artus had 13 digs and Stock added in 11, while Amanda Rankin (Horseheads, NY) contributed eight digs and Davanna Chetney (Fulton, NY) produced seven.
