ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon volleyball team is now 15-1 against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East foes since 2009. A pair of 3-0 wins over East Stroudsburg (25-15, 25-22, 25-16) and Lock Haven (25-17, 25-19, 25-17) represent the 11th and 12th straight wins over teams from the Eastern Division.
The Lady Knights carried momentum from a 4-0 weekend at the PSAC-WVIAC Crossover Tournament into two wins on Friday. Consistent passing in the two matches led to a Gannon offense that was clicking on all cylinders. In the opening win against East Stroudsburg, the Lady Knights hit .359 as a team, racking up 47 kills.
Gannon jumped out to a 10-1 lead against the Warriors behind the serve of Sarah Glancy (Walled Lake, Mich. / Walled Lake Central) and Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio / Huron). Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) started hot, contributing four kills during the run. East Stroudsburg never got closer than four points the rest of the way, putting Gannon up 1-0.
In a more tightly contested affair, Gannon won the second set by a 25-22 score. Six attack errors allowed the Warriors to hang around, but the Lady Knights were able to put the match away with a block from Chelsea Barrett (Coloma, Mich. / Coloma) and Courtney Cook (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / St. Peter Chanel).
With the score at 9-8 in the third set, Cullen took over the match. The senior recorded four straight kills and and six total during an 8-0 Gannon run. East Stroudsburg rallied during the final points, but the Lady Knights lead proved too much to overcome, and another Cullen kill capped the 3-0 victory. Gannon stuffed 22 kills in the third set, committing just two errors.
Sazama finished with a match-high 17 kills, hitting .351 with three aces. In total the junior accounted for 21 of Gannon's 75 points. Cullen converted nine of her 15 touches for kills, hitting .600 without an error. Barrett had a team-high 11 digs, while Alex DelPiombo (Monroe, Mich. / St. Mary's Catholic Central) dished out 17 assists during just one set of action
Gannon equaled its kill total in the second match, with another 47 kills in a 3-0 win over Lock Haven. The Lady Knights used several small runs during the match to gradually build a lead over the Lady Eagles. Leading the way on the offense was Sazama's 18 kills and Morgan Reineke's (New Knoxville, Ohio / New Knoxville) 14. Sazama's 18 kills mark a season high for the junior. The duo each hit better than .450 in the match.
DelPiombo's 42 assists are also a new season high. In four sets played on Friday, she dished out a total of 59 assists, averaging 14.75 per set. Graham had a match-high 19 digs, while Sazama had nine.
Gannon improves to 6-4 overall and moves to 2-0 in PSAC play. The Lady Knights will continue action at the PSAC East-West Crossover tomorrow when they face Shippensburg at 12:30 p.m. and Millersville at 3 p.m.
For a complete box score from todays' Gannon-East Stroudsburg match, please click here.
For a complete box score from today's Gannon-Lock Haven match, please click here.
