Wearing the yoke of a No. 1 ranking can be very cumbersome and that weight can also be a distraction. The Golden Eagles volleyball team took their lofty status to Cincinnati Clermont on Saturday afternoon and succumbed to the No. 3 Cougars in straight sets 3-0 as they did not play up to their recent standards.
Struggling through a day fraught with problems in the serving and passing games, the Eagles fell to UCC who took the rubber game of a three-match series this season and broke up a five-game winning streak. The black and red won the first matchup early in the season 3-2 in the USCAA Tip-Off Classic, while KSU Tusc took a straight set win over the Cougars in Founders Hall Gym.
On this day, the hosts won the first set 25-19, but had to hold off a Golden Eagles charge in the second. Clermont ended up winning the second set 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead and finished off the day with a 25-20 win in the final set to cap off UCC's senior day afternoon.
Up next for the Golden Eagles---now 15-3 on the season---is the USCAA National Volleyball Tournament Bid Day on Wednesday, November 1st and then the final match of the season at Miami Hamilton on Friday, November 3rd.
Alivia Spaulding readies for a kill against UCC earlier in the season.
(Photo by Rob Brindley)