Box Score
ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon volleyball team earned a crucial regional and conference win over California (Pa.) Saturday afternoon as the Lady Knights took down the Vulcans in four sets. Gannon picked up the set wins by scores of 27-25, 25-20, 14-25 and 25-21.
The win ensures the Gannon volleyball team of making it's fourth-straight appearance in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament. Gannon currently leads the Western Division with four conference matches remaining on the schedule. Clarion (12-3) is second while California (Pa.) (11-4) is third.
For the second-straight match, Gannon set a season-best mark in digs. The Lady Knights topped their performance of 90 digs against Indiana (Pa.) Friday night with a 93-dig effort Saturday at California (Pa.). As it was Friday night, four different Lady Knights reached double digits in digs.
“This was a great team win against what I still think is one of the most talented, if not the most talented, teams in the conference,” said head coach
Matt Darling. “We served better than we have all year and our defense was great again this afternoon.”
The Lady Knights came out on top in a pair of close sets to take a 2-0 lead. The Vulcans came storming back in the third set, winning by a 25-14 score. The fourth set was again a close affair until the Vulcans started to pull away midway through. After a borderline call awarded a point to California (Pa.), Darling voiced his disagreement with the officials, resulting in a red card and a point awarded to Cal. However, the fire from the head coach sparked the Gannon offense and the Lady Knights went on to take the final set 25-21.
Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) surpassed the 20-kill mark against the Vulcans for the second time this season. The senior totaled 20 kills, 23 digs, two aces and one assist during the match. “Sazama stepped up again for us, especially in the fourth set when we really needed our stars to shine,” noted Darling.
Morgan Reineke (New Knoxville, Ohio / New Knoxville) totaled double-digit kills for the second straight match, totaling 14 against the Vulcans. The senior also had four digs and one block assist.
Wendel totaled 40 assists in the match with one block assist.
Morgan Walters (Girard, Ohio / Girard) added three service aces and five digs.
The Lady Knights improved to 21-4 this season with the 13-2 record in conference. California (Pa.) now stands at 23-6 overall with an 11-4 mark in conference. Gannon returns home Friday, November 2 for a 7 p.m. battle with rival Mercyhurst. The Lakers handed a 3-0 loss to Gannon earlier this season at the MAC.
