WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University volleyball team (11-6) battled Keene State (11-7) as the match went five sets and the Cougars came away with a thrilling 3-2 win on Thursday night from the Kneller Gymnasium.  

The scarlet and white fell 25-20 in the first set, won 25-20 in the second set, dropped the third set 25-20, took the fourth set 25-21, and won the clinching set 17-15.

How it Happened

• Clark jumped out to an early 9-8 lead thanks to a pair of service aces and a kill from junior Claudia Rivera and the set was 18-17 at one point after a pair of kills from sophomore Sofia Scherrer del Llano, but the Owls pulled away with a 25-20 win in the first frame.
• The Cougars came out attacking early in the second set as they took an 11-7 advantage with service aces from first-year Gabi Acevedo Perez and sophomore Sheyenne Williams as well as kills from sophomore Victoria Pastor, Rivera, Williams, and Scherrer del Llano before Clark pushed the lead to 22-17 and won the set 25-20 on a kill from senior Margarita Perez Maza and a service ace from senior Sophia Torino.
• The teams battled to an 11-11 tie in the third set with two more kills from Pastor and Rivera, but Keene State pulled away with a 25-20 win despite kills from Williams, Pastor, Rivera, and Perez Maza.
• In the fourth set, Clark opened with a 14-10 advantage sparked by a pair of kills from sophomore Camille Flurry, but the Owls battled back to pull within two at 20-18 before the Cougars pulled away with five of the next eight points led by a service ace from Acevedo Perez as Clark won 25-21 in the fourth.
• The Cougars took a 10-7 lead in the fifth set led by three kills from Rivera, two from Pastor, and two from Scherrer del Llano and the score was then tied at 12, 13, 14, and 15 as the teams traded points before Scherrer del Llano and an attacking error pushed Clark past Keene State 17-15.

Inside the Box Score

• Rivera led the way with 21 kills for the Clark.
• Pastor and Scherrer del Llano recorded 14 and 12 kills respectively.
• Senior Marimo Oka registered a team-leading 29 digs.
• Torino dished out a team-high 30 assists and first-year Yvanna Torres added 22 helpers.
• Clark recorded 64 kills, 61 assists, and 70 digs in the match.

What's Next

Clark will return to the court on Tuesday when they welcome conference rival MIT to the Kneller for a match beginning at 6:00 p.m.