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Clarkson volleyball survives five-set thriller against NYU

Posted 11/1/14

Hoboken, NJ – It wasn't easy, but the Clarkson University Volleyball team finished off the New York Regional Challenge unbeaten, capping off the weekend with a five-set victory over New York …

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Clarkson volleyball survives five-set thriller against NYU

Posted

Hoboken, NJ – It wasn't easy, but the Clarkson University Volleyball team finished off the New York Regional Challenge unbeaten, capping off the weekend with a five-set victory over New York University on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights, ranked 15th in the latest AVCA poll, improved to 32-3 overall with their 12th straight win. Clarkson's second match of the day against Kean University was cancelled due to a leak in the roof at the third site of the tournament and there were not enough courts and time to make up the match.

Clarkson was taken to the brink against the Violets, needing extra points in the final set to come away with the win (21-25, 25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 17-15). For the second straight match, the Knights came out shaky on offense and actually hit negative in the opening set with just five kills and seven errors in 35 swings. However, Clarkson found its groove in the next two, including a dominant third set where the team in .400. The hiccups continued later on in the match, though, as NYU ended up with nearly half of its points coming on Clarkson miscues (48 total errors, only 11 forced on blocks or aces, out of 102 points).

"Stevens (yesterday) and NYU taught us how to survive," head coach Johan Dulfer remarked. "We didn't play as crisply as we would like against either team, but we fought hard and never gave up believing in a good outcome. Our serving game helped when our passing was a little off and we have a very deep roster which allows us to give people breaks when they need them. I'm very proud of everyone on how they handled this entire week and so excited to move into post-season play."

Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) had 12 kills and five blocks, including three solo efforts, while Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) kicked in 11 kills, 16 digs, and four aces, but the duo also combined for 19 attack errors. Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) hit .346 with 12 kills and only three errors in 26 attempts, as well as five total blocks, and Lauren Hutchinson (Spring, TX) added 11 kills with only two errors in 34 attempts. Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) produced 47 assists and 12 digs, while Evanne Jimenez (Ventura, CA) and Kristen Orlandini (Fairport, NY) had 17 and 11 digs, respectively.