POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches in the North Country on Saturday, falling to Clarkson University, 3-0, in a Liberty League matchup, before coming back to sweep SUNY Potsdam in a non-conference match at Alumni Gymnasium.
 
Sophomore Shannon McGrath paced Union (12-9, 2-3 Liberty League) with 24 kills on .279 hitting, followed by senior Keara Page with 20 kills on .375 hitting. First-years Graciela Escobar and Maddie McCarron added 16 and 15 kills, respectively, while classmate Sydney Scanlon registered 64 digs in six sets.
 
Clarkson 3, Union (27-25, 25-19, 25-10)
 
Union nearly took the opening set against the Golden Knights, but Clarkson (11-7, 5-1 Liberty League) pulled out a first-set win and then added two more to complete the sweep. McGrath led Union with 11 kills, followed by Page with 10 kills on .429 hitting. McCarron chipped in eight kills and four blocks to give her 65 blocks on the year, the most by a Union player since 2015.
 
The Garnet Chargers held the lead for much of the opening frame, using an early 5-0 to grab the largest lead of the set at 9-4 and fending off several Clarkson advances. After three straight points made it a 21-16 score, the Golden Knights went on an 8-1 run to take their first lead at 24-22. Union fought off two set points and a McGrath kill brought up set point for Union at 25-24, but two kills and an ace allowed the home team to escape with the set-one win.
 
After trailing for the first half of the second stanza, Union went on a 7-2 run to take its first lead at 16-15. However, Clarkson closed on a 10-3 run to take the second set by a 25-19 score. Bolstered by their two-set lead, the Golden Knights rattled off 13 straight points as part of a 14-2 run to start the third set, putting the match quickly out of reach.
 
Union 3, SUNY Potsdam 0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-12)
 
McGrath and Escobar both hit over .400 in the second match of the day, helping Union sweep Potsdam to end the afternoon. Escobar put down a season-best 14 kills on 24 attempts for a .458 hitting percentage, while McGrath made one error with 13 kills on 28 swings to finish at .429.
 
Union led for almost the entirety of the opening set, scoring four in a row after the Bears earned the opening point and never looking back. McGrath had six kills in the frame, which saw the Union lead grow to as many as nine at 23-14 before cruising to the win.
 
The Garnet Chargers hit a blistering .533 in the second stanza, putting down 18 kills on 30 attempts to take a 2-0 lead. This time it was Escobar with a team-best six kills in the set. Union recorded four straight points as part of a 10-2 run that broke a nine-all tie and gave the team some breathing room.
 
Potsdam hung with Union for the start of the third set, trailing by three at 10-7 before Union surged ahead to close out the match, finishing on a 15-6 run.
 
Union hit .350 as a team in the win, putting down 47 kills with 11 errors on 103 attacks.
 
Union will return home for two Liberty League matches next weekend, beginning on Friday at 7 p.m. for the team's Mental Health Awareness Game against William Smith College.