“We are really happy to get a victory against a really strong Mercyhurst team,” said head coach
Matt Darling. “As always, they gave us all we could handle and they had a really good game plan against us. One of our team goals this year was to get a victory in the NCAA Tournament. So even though we didn't play our best, this win is a thing of beauty for us.”
The third set proved to be the decisive one. With the match tied at one, Gannon and Mercyhurst fought through 16 ties and six lead changes. The Lakers held the largest lead of the set at 11-7, but the Lady Knights immediately answered with four straight points to tie the competition at 11. Neither team could produce a lead larger than two points the rest of the way.
Gannon eventually snapped a 24-24 tie with consecutive points to earn a 26-24 win. The first point came via a Mercyhurst service error, before
Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) ended the set with a kill.
The third-set win appeared to give Gannon a lot of momentum. The Lady Knights scored the first six points of the fourth set. After Mercyhurst closed within 9-8, Gannon ripped off a 15-5 run to assume a 24-13 advantage. The Lakers didn't go down without a fight, scoring 10 consecutive points until
Megan Wendel's (Aurora, Ohio/Kenston) tip kill ended the match.
Sazama and PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Year
Kayla Knickerbocker (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) combined to record nine of Gannon's 15 kills during the final set.
“Lauren and Kayla made a ton of big plays at key times,” noted Darling. “Lauren didn't have the best statistics, but Mercyhurst served her every ball and defended her well. And she stood up when it mattered most.”
Fans in attendance thought Gannon was going to run its rival out of the gym after the first set. The Lady Knights raced out to an 11-4 lead and easily coasted to a 25-13 win. The squad hit .312 during the opening stanza as Sazama and
Morgan Reineke (New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville) recorded four kills each. However, Mercyhurst rallied to tie the match with a 25-20 victory during the second set.
Sazama led both teams in kills (16) and digs (20). The Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year reached the 20-dig plateau for the sixth time this season while entering double digits in kills for the 19th consecutive match. She produced her 22nd double-double of the season and 70th of her career.
Reineke was the only other Lady Knight in double digits with 12 kills. Knickerbocker finished with nine kills and a .261 attack percentage. Wendel dished out 42 assists while recording three kills and seven digs.
Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio/Huron) had 18 digs as the squad's defensive specialist. Six different Lady Knights recorded blocks, led by
Sarah Glancy's (Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central) five.
Gannon improved to 29-5 with its 24th victory during the last 27 matches. The Lady Knights have now won the program's most matches in a season since the 1992 NCAA Division II Elite Eight squad finished 40-2. Mercyhurst saw its season come to a close with a 25-11 overall record after consecutive postseason losses to Gannon.
Darling and his troops will face California (Pa.) during Friday's NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional semifinals. The Vulcans (29-7) advanced with a 3-1 victory against Shippensburg. The NCAA Division II Atlantic Region title match is scheduled for Saturday, December 1 at 7 p.m.
