Potsdam, NY - Only two teams escaped from the North Country Volleyball Classic this past weekend with unblemished records: the Clarkson University Volleyball team and Potsdam State. The two teams matched up on Tuesday night, but the Golden Knights showed who the champion was, beating the Bears easily in three straight sets, 25-7, 25-14, 25-11.

The Golden Knights improved to 5-0 overall and will play in the Scranton Invitational this weekend. Potsdam falls to 4-1.

The first set saw Clarkson absolutely dominate, hitting at a .519 clip with 15 kills against just one error. The second set wasn't quite as convincing, but a double-digit advantage was still gained by the Knights.

“I thought our team was very focused for tonight’s match," head  coach Johan Dulfer said. "There’s a lot of prestige at stake anytime we play Potsdam. I thought we served controlled, but very tough. and then controlled the ball very well on our side when they did attack. Lani Durio was able to find open hitters all night and our pass/serve/defend game was to credit for that. Potsdam is really a much better team that what we saw. They are athletic and well-coached, but tonight we were not going to be denied. I’m very proud of our focus and effort tonight. It really feels like the team is coming together. They really want to fight  for each other.”
Freshman Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) had 11 kills on 18 swings and no errors and added a pair of blocks to lead the Knights. Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) struck for eight kills and had only one error as well. Lani Durio (Austin, TX) came through with 31 assists and had five kills on only six attempts, while Erika Chin (Katy, TX) had 14 digs and a pair of aces.