Volleyball Preview - Knights Open Liberty League Play This Week

After 10 days off from competition, the Clarkson University Volleyball team opened up the conference schedule with a strong statement against St. Lawrence University, and now the Golden Knights will look to continue that momentum into the conference weekend against three foes.

Clarkson Volleyball Program 9/27 (PDF)

The Golden Knights, receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll and just outside the top 25, are 9-4 overall with three of their losses coming to teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the country. In each of those matches, the Golden Knights took at least one set and in two of them forced a fifth game.

Clarkson opened the Liberty League schedule on Wednesday at St. Lawrence University, gaining a 3-0 win (25-8, 25-15, 27-25), and the Knights will move on to host a pair of conference games on Friday against Bard College and Vassar College. On Saturday afternoon, the Golden Knights will close out the four-game set against RIT, playing the Tigers at St. Lawrence in a neutral site match.

Over the weekend, Clarkson will have its first home matches as it serves as host for a conference weekend with five teams descending upon Alumni Gymnasium. Clarkson hosts Bard (2-10) in a 5:00 pm match on Friday, a team that it has beaten four times in the last two seasons since the Raptors joined the Liberty League. The Knights have averaged at 25-10 victory in 12 sets against Bard since 2011. Following that match, Clarkson will take on Vassar College (9-5). Although the Knights have dominated the Brewers since 2008, winning 10 straight, that doesn't mean Clarkson will be in for an easy second match. The Green and Gold are 11-11 all-time against Vassar, and have gone 30-9 in sets during the 10-game streak. However, Vassar nearly knocked the Knights out of the Liberty League Tournament last year, forcing Clarkson to five sets, and the Brewers were chosen as the second-place finisher in the Liberty League's Pre-Season Coaches' Poll.

On Saturday, Clarkson will take on RIT (7-9), a team that it has beaten seven straight times, and the Tigers have won only one set in the last four matches against the Knights. The Tigers do hold an overwhelming mark of 23-9 all-time against Clarkson.

Senior Lani Durio (Austin, TX) is averaging 7.76 assists and 1.69 digs per set for the Knights, and surpassed 4,000 career assists with 38 more on Wednesday against SLU. Junior Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) is averaging 2.20 kills and 0.47 blocks per set, and sophomore Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) leads the team with 2.65 kills per set. Senior libero Erika Chin (Katy, TX) averages 5.02 digs per set.

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