New Paltz, NY - Two more matches and two more victories gave the Clarkson University Volleyball team their third straight tournament title to open the year at the Hawks Invitational as the Golden Knights are off to their best start in program history at 13-0 with convincing three-set victories over Mount St. Mary (25-23, 25-17, 25-11) and New Paltz (25-19, 25-20, 25-14) Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights begin their conference schedule on Tuesday when they visit St. Lawrence University in the Liberty League opener. Clarkson will then head back downstate for matches held at Bard and Vassar next weekend.

"I thought we played very well at times, yet I also know that there is a lot of room for improvement," head coach Johan Dulfer remarked. "But no matter the level of play at a particular moment, we were incredibly aggressive all day. Regardless of how we were playing, technically, we had a lot of purpose and offensive intent and really went after our opponent, and I’m very proud of that."

Against Mount St. Mary, senior Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) recorded 16 kills to lead Clarkson offensively, while junior Bailey Walker (Centennial, CO) added in nine kills and senior Megan Mahon (Irvine, CA) contributed seven more. Sophomore setter Lani Durio (Austin, TX) continued to run the Knights' offense with aplomb, contributing 35 assists, while classmate Erika Chin (Katy, TX) led the defensive efforts with 16 digs.

Versus New Paltz, Chin produced 24 of Clarkson's 63 digs on defense, an outstaning number for a three-set match. Durio again had 29 assists (161 for the weekend) while Artus produced 13 kills, Walker had 11 kills, and freshman Becca Brabec (Lemont, IL) added eight kills.