CLARION, Pa. - The Gannon women's volleyball team pushed Clarion to five sets on Saturday afternoon but was unable to come away with the win against the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division leader, falling by scores of 29-27, 17-25, 25-11, 18-25 and 18-16.
The Lady Knights held a lead early in the first match, but couldn't hold off a strong comeback from the Golden Eagles, who took the set 29-27. Gannon hit an impressive .393 in the second set to earn the 25-17 win before Clarion came roaring back to take the third set 25-11.
Continuing the back-and-forth tempo, Gannon took the fourth set 25-18 thanks to racking up 16 kills. The Lady Knights were unable to use the momentum in the deciding set, registering only four kills to Clarion's 11, falling 18-16.
“I'm really pleased with how hard we played today against a very good Clarion team,” said head coach Matt Darling. “Our effort was great, but in the end Clarion executed better.”
For the second straight match the Gannon offense ran through the powerful tandem of Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) and Morgan Reineke (New Knoxville, Ohio / New Knoxville). The pair accounted for 31 of Gannon's 52 kills on the day.
Sazama turned in another double-double performance, leading the team with 17 kills and adding 10 digs. The sophomore also delivered a solo block and a service ace.
Reineke also turned in a double-double effort finishing second on the day in both kills (14) and digs (13). Junior Kara Cullen (Marstons Mills, Mass. / Barnstable) hit .333 for the match with eight kills and four block assists.
Alex DelPiombo (Monroe, Mich. / St. Mary's Catholic Central) and Kendall Fischer (Macedonia, Ohio / Nordonia) split setting duties with DelPiombo earning 21 assists and Fischer dishing out 18.
Courtney Cook (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / St. Peter Chanel) added 7 kills while Jess Saunders (Hinckley, Ohio / Highland) led the team in digs (22).
“It was an exciting match that emulated a playoff atmosphere and will help prepare us for important matches coming up,” said Darling.
Clarion moves to 20-3 on the season and a league-best 12-1 in the PSAC. Gannon falls to 16-6 and 10-4 in conference.
Gannon will play five of its final six matches at home where the Lady Knights boast a perfect 5-0 record. Gannon will host rival Mercyhurst at the Hammermill Center on Tuesday, October 19. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
A complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-Clarion volleyball match will be available later this evening at http://www.gannonsports.com.
