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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team suffered its fourth straight loss on Saturday afternoon as the visiting Golden Eagles of Clarion University handed the Huskies a straight-set setback at the Nelson Field House. Clarion hung on for a 25-23 victory in the first set and then completed the sweep with a 25-12 win in the second and a 25-17 margin in the third as the Golden Eagles improved to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Southwest Division. With the loss, Bloomsburg dropped to 4-9 overall and 0-4 in the PSAC Central Division.

Freshman Emma Van Arsdale (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) led the Huskies with seven kills to go along with a team-high-tying 11 assists on the afternoon. She added six digs, an ace, and an assisted block to lead Bloomsburg with 8.5 points. Redshirt senior Sarah Gomish (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll Catholic) and freshman Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) each had six kills apiece to aid the Huskies' offense. Sophomore Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) led the team with 12 digs while Gomish chipped in with 11. Freshman Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) tied Van Arsdale with 11 assists while freshman Autumn Altland (East Berlin, Pa./Delone Catholic) paced the Huskies with one solo block and one assisted block at the net.

Julia Holden led the Golden Eagles with 14 kills while Lean Vensel had 34 assists. On the defensive side, Chrissy Cotton posted 25 digs and Lauren Aichinger had three solo blocks in the victory.

Clarion jumped out to an early lead in the opening set as it grew the margin to six points, 14-8, before the Huskies began to chip away. Bloomsburg scored the next four points - two coming on kills from Van Arsdale - to cut the lead to two at 14-12 before Clarion stopped the streak on a kill from Holden to push the Golden Eagle back to three. The teams exchanged the next two points and then Bloomsburg went on another run, this time a 7-1 rally, as the Huskies erased a three-point deficit and turned it into a three-point lead at 20-17. Giza had two kills during the stretch while Gomish and freshman Noelle Chavey (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) added one each. The Golden Eagles, however, responded with a 7-2 run to take a 24-22 lead and then finished off the set with a kill from Holden to escape with a 25-23 victory.

Bloomsburg scored the first two points of the second set on back-to-back kills from Van Arsdale and Stek before the Golden Eagles rattled off the next six points to take a 6-2 lead. Clarion continued to go on the attack as the lead ballooned to 10-4 before the Huskies called a timeout. Following the breather, Bloomsburg scored the next three points on kills from Gomish and Giza and a Clarion hitting error. But, that would be as close as the Huskies would come as Clarion pulled away for a 25-12 victory in the second set.

Clarion completed the sweep in the third by jumping out to a 14-3 advantage and then holding on for a 25-17 victory. Bloomsburg got as close as six points on two different occasions down the stretch, which included a 5-0 run that cut the lead to 14-8. Giza, Altland, and Chavey had kills during the spurt. 

Bloomsburg was limited to just a .109 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Chavey had three kills in four attempts to finish with a .750 hitting percentage while Giza had six kills (one error) in 12 swings for a .417 clip. Clarion, meanwhile, finished with a .250 hitting percentage as four Golden Eagles hit .333 or better on the afternoon.

The Huskies, searching for the program's first-ever conference victory, will be on the road next Friday, September 28, and Saturday, September 29, when they take on West Chester and Millersville, respectively. Bloomsburg will return home on Tuesday, October 2, to host Lock Haven at 7:00 p.m.

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