ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst volleyball team beat Clarion, 3-2, in a thrilling five-game match on Friday night. The Lakers won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division contest by scores of 14-25, 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, and 15-11 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

For a fifth straight home outing, Mercyhurst played to a decisive fifth set. This time, the Lakers were able to pull out a crucial victory, pushing themselves closer to an NCAA Tournament bid. Kills by Lauren Kenny and Rachel Crittle gave the Lakers a 4-2 edge early in the fifth frame. Clarion tied the set, but another Crittle kill was followed by a Clarion error. An Eagle attack was then fielded by Tai Lattimore. The ball flew toward the net, where Kelly Vitt batted it over and found the floor on the Clarion side. The MAC crowd went into chaos as the visitors called timeout, trailing, 7-5. A Lexi Stefanov point stretched the advantage, but the Eagles answered to tie the score at 8.

Clarion scored again, but Stefanov evened the score at 9. Vitt found her for another kill for an 11-10 edge. Two Eagle errors inched the Lakers closer to a win, but Clarion scored to make it 13-11. The visitors then served into the net and then a setting error allowed Mercyhurst to come away with a key division victory.

Vitt finished with 44 assists and 10 digs. Stefanov put up 18 points and Crittle posted 14 on the night. Kenny added 10.5 points, while Samantha Giardina totaled 20 digs.

Mercyhurst, sixth in this week's NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings, improved to 17-10 overall and 12-7 in the PSAC. Clarion, second in the region this week, dropped to 27-3 overall and 17-2 in the conference. The Lakers host IUP tomorrow in the home finale at the MAC. The match is set for a 4:05 p.m. start.