THE BASICS
Score: at California (Pa.) 3, Gannon 2
Set scores: (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 16-25, 11-15)
Records: Gannon (24-4, 17-4 PSAC) / California (Pa.) (24-8, 16-5 PSAC)
Location: Convocation Center – California, Pa.
The Short Story: The Gannon women's volleyball team earned a split in the regular-season series with Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent and host California (Pa.) Friday evening at the Convocation Center. The Vulcans rallied for a 3-2 win over the visiting Lady Knights by set scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 16-25 and 11-15.
 
THE BASICS
- Sophomore Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis. / Wisconsin Lutheran) collected her 19th double-double of the season off a team-best 11 kills and 23 digs. Sophomore Lauren Beck (Chardon, Ohio / Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) contributed nine kills.
- Senior Megan Wendel (Aurora, Ohio / Kenston) generated 39 assists and 23 digs to earn her 12th double-double of the 2014 campaign.
- On the defensive front, five Lady Knights reached double figures. Senior Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio / Huron) tied a career-high 35 digs to lead the Lady Knights in the category. Joining Kren, Wendel and Graham in double figures were sophomore Jordyn Thiery (Cincinnati, Ohio / McAuley) with 19 and senior Maggie Desrosiers (Uniontown, Ohio / Hoover) with 11.
- The match featured 22 tied scores and 11 lead changes. The score did not changed hands in the third set as the Lady Knights claimed a 2-1 lead in the match.
- The Vulcans attacked at a clip of .216 for the match compared to the Lady Knights' percentage of .143.
- Four Vulcans managed to reach double digits in kills with two compiling double figures in assists and five in digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Securing a 25-22 win in the opening set, Gannon was able to fend off a Vulcans' late rally after taking an 18-15 lead. Trailing 15-14, the Lady Knights strung together four unanswered points to pull ahead 18-15 only to see the Vulcans pull within one, 20-19. The Lady Knights were able to notch five of the final eight points in the match with back-to-back kills from Wendel and Thiery to earn the 25-22 win.
- California (Pa.) answered back in the second set with a 25-19 win to tie the match at one each. With the score knotted at 14-14, the Vulcans pulled away in the set off an 8-2 run for a 22-16 lead. Two GU attack errors put the Vulcans in place to seal the 25-19 win off a set-point kill.
- Earning a 25-22 third-set victory, the Lady Knights controlled the entire set from start to finish. Racing out to a 6-1 early lead, GU widened their lead to six points on five occasions before the team pushed its lead to 19-12. The Vulcans managed to work the Lady Knights' lead to four, 20-16, on a 4-1 run. Despite the Vulcans moving to within two of the Lady Knights late in the set, 24-22, GU was able to hold off the opponent for a 25-22 win and 2-1 lead in the match.
- With the score tied at five each in the fourth set, the Vulcans pushed their advantage to 15-7 on a 10-2 run including five unanswered tallies. Down the stretch, the rest of the set was close. The Vulcans' early lead was too much for the Lady Knights to overcome as the host squad sealed the 25-16 win in the set to tie the match at 2-2.  
- Early on in the final set, the match was up for grabs with the score tied at 5-5. The Vulcans worked their lead to 13-7 off an 8-2 run before the Lady Knights stormed back to erase the Vulcans' lead to 13-11. The Vulcans picked up consecutive kills to secure the 15-11 victory, while rallying for the 3-2 match win.   
 
QUOTABLES | HEAD COACH MATT DARLING
"I'm quite disappointed with our performance tonight, to be honest. We had a chance to pick up a great win, but we had sub-standard performances from some key people, including me. When we take the court tomorrow, we will have another opportunity to clinch a home playoff game. Can we put these last two matches behind us? We will see."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Gannon concludes the regular season with a key divisional matchup with postseason implications. The Lady Knights face host Seton Hill Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. in the regular-season finale. The winning team from Saturday's meeting will host the opposing squad in a PSAC Quarterfinal Nov. 11.