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Women's Volleyball October 23, 2014

CU Volleyball Preview - at Liberty League Weekend Four

With the final four conference matches coming up this weekend, the Clarkson University Volleyball team will not only look to secure its third Liberty League regular-season title in the past four years, but the Golden Knights will try to cap off their second straight unbeaten conference campaign.

The Golden Knights, ranked 16th in the latest AVCA Poll, will take on four other teams with playoff possibilities in mind this weekend. RIT is on a roll at 6-2 in the conference, and they will face the Golden Knights at 6:00 pm, while Union at 5-3 is looking to earn a spot in the post-season as well, and they will host Clarkson at 8:00 pm on Friday. On Saturday, Clarkson will face another 6-2 team in St. Lawrence at 2:00 pm and then Skidmore, hanging on entering the final weekend at 3-5, will host the Knights at 4:00 pm.

Clarkson is a perfect 8-0 in the league and is the lone team to already have clinched a playoff spot, but the Knights have bigger things in mind this weekend. Even with a 3-1 showing on Friday and Saturday, Clarkson will clinch the hosting rights for the conference tournament, and a 2-2 record would probably do the trick as well. However, the Green and Gold have won 24 straight conference matches dating back to the 2012 post-season and any loss would put a damper on the Knights' showing in the league this year.

Clarkson leads the league in hitting percentage (.269, seventh in the nation), opponents' hitting percentage (.112), assists per set (12.11, 31st in the nation), kills per set (13.18, 28th in the nation) and aces per set (2.63, 28th in the nation), but those numbers get even more impressive when only considering Liberty League matches. Clarkson's conference numbers top numerous categories, including hitting percentage (.282), opponents' hitting percentage (.072), assists per set (12.56), assists by opponents (6.72), kills per set (13.44), kills by opponents (7.16), aces per set (2.92), and aces by opponents (1.16). Clarkson also is only allowing 1.16 blocks by its opponents, which is narrowly second in the conference.  

The Golden Knights also have numerous individuals who rank highly in the conference statistics, including five of the top nine hitting percentages in the league, while Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) leads the league in aces (73, 0.80 per set, both of which rank in the top 10 in the country) and Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) leads the conference in assists per set (10.76), 11th in the nation.

Clarkson will first face RIT, which is 18-11 overall and 6-2 in the Liberty League. The Tigers go with Sarah Szybist's performances, and she had a strong run last weekend in the Liberty League. However, the Knights have shut the sophomore down in two career matches. Szybist averages 5.10 kills (third in the nation) and 5.82 points (second in the nation) per set with a .292 hitting percentage, but in her two career matches against Clarkson, the Knights have held her to 2.67 kills per set and just a .067 hitting percentage with no aces and only five total digs.

Union, 20-8 overall and 5-3 in the conference, is the only team in the last two years to take a set from Clarkson in conference play, but the Dutchwomen have only claimed two sets out of 14 in that time. Union leads the league in blocks with 1.74 per set, helped greatly by Lauren Woods' 0.91 per set. Kat Moeller is also having a strong season at libero with 5.83 digs per set, which ranks 20th in the country.

On Saturday, Skidmore might already be eliminated from the conference tournament seedings, but the Thoroughbreds could also still be fighting for the fourth spot with a strong showing on Friday. They rank 65th in the country in digs per set (17.26) led in large part by Marcela Familiar-Bolanos, who is 15th in that category with 6.02 per set. Aria Goodman is averaging 3.14 kills and 0.53 aces per set to lead the offense.

Finally, St. Lawrence will likely be jockeying for seeding on Saturday, with and outside hope of hosting the tournament depending on Clarkson's results on Friday. The Saints are 39th in the country in hitting percentage at .227, with Rebecca Briggs pushing the offense with a .325 hitting percentage. Lexi Brown averages 3.08 kills and Cristina DeSchaine is just a shade under a block per set. 
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Players Mentioned

Victoria Kirkemo

#6 Victoria Kirkemo

OH
5' 9"
Junior
Kirstie Shurie

#17 Kirstie Shurie

S/L
5' 5"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Victoria Kirkemo

#6 Victoria Kirkemo

5' 9"
Junior
OH
Kirstie Shurie

#17 Kirstie Shurie

5' 5"
Junior
S/L