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LOCK HAVEN -- Lock Haven (20-7) took the opening set in convincing fashion but Clarion surged back to take a thriller in Thomas Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening in the quarterfinal round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference women's volleyball tournament.
Lock Haven rolled through the first set. The Bald Eagles took the opener by a 25-13 tally behind the efforts of Gracelynn Wolzen, Reagan Irons and Avery Smith. Lock Haven wrapped up the opening frame with four straight points as it looked to roll past the Golden Eagles early.
Clarion (20-8) responded by taking the second set after the two teams traded points early. The Golden Eagles used a five-point surge in the middle of the set to pull away en route to a 25-18 set victory to tie the match at a set apiece.
The third set went to Lock Haven, 25-20, after the Bald Eagles tied it at 10 each and scored four straight to take a 14-10 lead. Lock Haven finished the set on a 5-0 run to take a commanding 2-1 lead in the match.
In set four, Clarion pulled away early and never looked back to force a fifth and deciding set.
The fifth set was a back and forth affair throughout that saw Clarion take a 14-9 lead before the Bald Eagles used a ferocious rally to tie the set score at 14 points each off of an Irons kill. Taylor Haupt put Clarion ahead with a kill, and Marisa Markou ended the match to send Clarion home with a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
Maddie Mitchell led Lock Haven with 12 kills, and Wolzen hit .310 with 11 kills and two errors on 29 attempts. Smith matched a career high with six blocks. Natalie Gibson had a 37-assist, 10-dig double-double.
Irons finished the match with 13 digs to surpass 500 in her career. Sophomore libero Olivia Taylor had 33 digs and to reach the 600 digs threshold on the season. She has reached double-digit digs in 26 straight games.
Lock Haven will await word on an at-large bid to the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament, with the field to be revealed on Sunday.