ERIE, Pa. - The three members of the senior class were instrumental in leading the Gannon volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Clarion to close out the 2012 regular season. The Lady Knights won by scores of 25-11, 25-19 and 25-12.
The three seniors led the team offensively during the regular-season finale Saturday night. The trio accounted for 37 of Gannon's 46 kills on the night, led by
Lauren Sazama's (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) 18.
Morgan Reineke (New Knoxville, Ohio / New Knoxville) finished with 13 while
Sarah Glancy (Walled Lake, Mich. / Walled Lake Central) had six. All three hit better than .350 in the match.
These three seniors have been instrumental in leading a program with a losing record before their arrival to four straight seasons with at least 20 wins. Gannon will also be making its fourth-straight PSAC Tournament appearance next Tuesday and is in line for its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, currently third in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rankings.
The squad has excelled under the leadership the senior class this season recording the most wins (25) and conference wins (17) during head coach
Matt Darling's six seasons. Overall the Lady Knights have posted an 87-37 record over the last four years. That mark includes a 57-19 record in conference matches and an impressive 46-8 mark in matches played at the 'Mill.
The Lady Knights exploited Clarion's serve receive all night, totaling 12 aces in the contest.
Morgan Walters (Girard, Ohio / Girard) finished with an impressive six aces. It marks the second time this season the freshman has put away six aces in a contest, the other coming last week against Mercyhurst. Sazama added three aces while
Megan Wendel (Aurora, Ohio / Kenston) finished with a pair.
Gannon held a 46-20 edge in kills during the match. The Lady Knights hit .355 compared to just .111 for Clarion. The .355 hitting percentage for Gannon marks the second time this week and the seventh time this season the team has hit .300 or better in a match.
The Lady Knights used large scoring runs all night to run away from the Golden Eagles. In the first set, Gannon used a 13-2 scoring edge in the middle of the frame to eventually lead 23-8. The third set saw the Lady Knights open with a 14-4 lead behind the serve of
Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio / Huron) and Walters. Gannon eventually closed the match with six straight points, again behind the serve of Walters.
Seven digs and a .394 hitting percentage finished off Sazama's stat line for the night. Graham led the deffensive effort with 12 digs while Wendel dished out 32 assists. Glancy also added two block assists.
Gannon improved their overall record to 25-5 and conference mark to 17-2. Clarion is 23-9 overall and 13-5 in the league play. Gannon will now move into postseason play, hosting rival Mercyhurst Tuesday night in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. A full preview will be available at gannonsports.com Monday.
