Potsdam, NY - Settling for a split, the Clarkson University Volleyball team picked up a four-set win against its crosstown rival SUNY Potsdam and dropped a three-set match against an annual regional rival in Stevens Institute of Technology on the first day of the Golden Knight Invitational at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights moved to 6-3 overall and will face Susquehanna and Brockport on Sunday to close out the tournament before they begin Liberty League play next weekend. 

The Bears played scrappy defense and found a few holes around the Clarkson block, but the Golden Knights' middle hitters were virtually unstoppable as the Green and Gold claimed a four-set victory (25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-10)  against SUNY Potsdam in the opener of the tournament. 

The first three sets were tightly contested, but Clarkson enjoyed a big serving run in the fourth set to put the game away quickly, pushing out to a 16-2 lead thanks to unforced errors by the Bears and a big block that wouldn't allow many attempts over the net. Junior Rachel Reusch delivered seven total blocks, including six solo efforts, to go along with a .294 hitting percentage with 13 kills on 34 tries. Sophomore Gillian Kurtic hit .650 in the match, striking 14 kills against just one error in 20 swings. Kate Isaksen produced 28 digs, including 18 in the middle two sets, and Kendall Cheval added a solid all-around line with 8 kills, 20 digs, and 3 aces. Amanda Collins and Haley Aud split setting duties, recording 26 and 20, respectively.

For the Bears, Gabby Scott contributed 16 kills and 13 digs and Natalie Magallon had 29 digs. Potsdam hit just .019 of the match, but that lower percentage was pushed heavily by a -.306 attack percentage in the fourth set (2-13-36). In the first three sets, Potsdam hit 29-15-125 (.112).

In the second match of the day for Clarkson, the Ducks possessed just a few too many offensive options for the Golden Knights to contain, as Stevens hit .257 in the match with 37 kills and nine errors (with only one total block by the Knights). Conversely, Clarkson had difficulty getting clean looks at the Stevens defense and the Knights found themselves committing at least seven attack errors in each of the three sets, with Stevens winning in straight sets 25-18, 25-20, 25-15.

Rachel Reusch delivered 10 kills to lead the Clarkson offense, while Gillian Kurtic hit .357 (6-1-14). Amanda Collins found her teammates on 18 occasions and Kate Isaksen produced 21 digs and five assists for the Knights. 

For Stevens, Taleen Mitchell produced a double-double on 11 kills and 12 digs. Sara Hain hit .500 (9-1-16) and Shelby Stewart and Corinne Dougherty combined for 13 more kills. Elizabeth Chu recorded 20 digs and a pair of aces, while Brianna Perez and Julie Greco tallied 16 and 11 assists, respectively.