CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The match-up of the top two teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division lived up to the hype as Gannon and California (Pa.) battled five sets on Saturday afternoon. The Vulcans evened the season series with a 3-2 win by scores of 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 14-25 and 15-11.
The Lady Knights were on the verge of pulling off an incredible come-from-behind win before a 4-0 run in the decisive fifth set gave California (Pa.) the 3-2 win. Gannon dropped the first two sets, before coming back to win the third and fourth. The fifth set was tied at 11 before the Vulcans' quick run closed out the match.
"I'm not into moral victories and this loss hurts us emotionally and in the standings just like all the others," said head coach Matt Darling. "We're definitely not playing at the same level we were earlier in the season and that is something that the coaches need to figure out."
Gannon hit .250 for the match while the Vulcans finished with a .305 hitting percentage. The Vulcans finished with a 77-56 edge in digs while Gannon held a 13-5 advantage in total blocks.
Gannon was led by Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) who finished with a match-high 18 kills. The junior also had a team-high 20 digs, one ace and a block assist. Morgan Reineke (New Knoxville, Ohio / New Knoxville) was the other Lady Knight to reach double-digit kills with 13. She also added two digs and three block assists.
Kara Cullen (Marstons Mills, Mass. / Barnstable) tallied nine kills, five block assists and one solo block in the loss. Claren Harris (South Milwaukee, Wis. / South Milwaukee) had three solo blocks, four block assists and four kills. Courtney Cook (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / St. Peter Chanel) put away five kills on 13 touches for a .385 hitting percentage.
The Vulcans were led by Kelly Fromknecht's 15 kills. She committed just one attack error for a .538 hitting percentage. Molly Delany and Abbey Freund finished with 21 and 20 digs respectively.
"If there is good news, it's that we still have a lot to play for," said Darling of the loss. "Hopefully, the team will get hot in time for the postseason. "
The Lady Knights will finish out the regular season next week with a mid-season match at Edinboro on Tuesday before returning home to host Mercyhurst in the regular-season finale on Saturday, November 5 at 7 p.m.
For a complete box score from today's Gannon-California (Pa.) volleyball game, please click here.