Tournament: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference(PSAC)/Mountain East Conference (MEC) Crossover
Location: Hammermill Center – Erie, Pa.
The Short Story: The host Gannon women's volleyball team concluded the PSAC/MEC Crossover Saturday at the Hammermill Center, compiling a 4-0 record at the two-day event. The Lady Knights secured sweeps over Notre Dame (Ohio) and West Liberty on the final day Saturday. In the opening match against Notre Dame (Ohio), the Lady Knights swept the Falcons by set scores of 25-11, 25-14 and 25-17. The Lady Knights ended the action securing a sweep of West Liberty by set scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-21.
GAME ONE:Scores: Edinboro 3, West Liberty 0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18)
Records: EU (5-2)/WLU (1-6)
GAME TWO:Scores: at Gannon 3, Notre Dame (Ohio) 0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-17)
Records: GU (6-0)/NDC (2-5)
THE BASICS- Senior
Lynne Hibbard (West Barnstable, Mass./Barnstable) led the Gannon Lady Knights with 12 kills, the only player in the match to reach double figures in the category. Hibbard also led the Lady Knights with two solo blocks and a block assist. Four Lady Knights recorded at least five kills including sophomore
Jordyn Thiery (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) with eight, senior
Emily Carver (Stow, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt) with seven, and junior
Kayla Knickerbocker (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) and senior
Maggie Desrosiers (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) each with five.
- Following a 23-assist performance in the opening set by senior
Megan Wendel (Aurora, Ohio/Kenston), the Lady Knights turned to junior
Morgan Walters (Girard, Ohio/Girard). Walters jumped right in, setting 14 plays between the two sets.
- Senior
Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio/Huron) and Thiery hit double figures in digs, collecting 13 and 11, respectively.
- The Lady Knights posted a .363 hitting percentage, while the Falcons of Notre Dame (Ohio) retiring with a .047 attack percentage.
- Hitting .600 from the court, Hibbard led the team by connecting on 12 of 20 with no errors.
- The Lady Knights held a 4.0-2.0 block advantage.
- The second set saw the only tied scores and lead changes with two each. For the rest of the sets, the Lady Knights controlled the play.
HOW IT HAPPENED- Erupting to a 9-0 lead with Kren at the line in the opening set, the Lady Knights recorded five straight kills including two each by Hibbard and Knickerbocker before capitalizing on four Falcons' errors. The Falcons answered back with a 6-3 run, as the Lady Knights mirrored the visitor's run with their own 6-3 run for an 18-9 lead. Carver ended the set on a unassisted kill for a 25-11 Lady Knights' win.
- Taking a 6-4 lead, Walters carried the Lady Knights on an 8-0 run. Desrosiers accounted for half of the team's kills during the run. The rest of the way saw a back and forth effort with the Lady Knights using their 10-point lead as insurance throughout the set.
- Pushing their lead to 9-2 in the third and final set, the Lady Knights controlled the rest of the way with another safe lead. The Falcons managed to cut into the Lady Knights' lead at the end of the match on a few missed sets with the score 24-14. The final point in the set was solid as freshman
Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio/Solon) found the hole in the Falcons' defense on a set by Walters.
GAME THREE:Scores: Edinboro 3, Notre Dame (Ohio) 1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-16)
Records: EU (6-2)/NDC (2-6)
GAME FOUR:Scores: at Gannon 3, West Liberty 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-21)
Records: GU (7-0)/WLU (1-7)
THE BASICS- Sophomore
Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) led the Lady Knights with 15 kills followed by
Lauren Beck (Chardon, Ohio / Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) with 11 kills. Hibbard added eight kills to the team's total.
- Wendel compiled 43 assists against the West Liberty Hilltoppers. Graham finished the day with a match-best 25 digs and accumulated 14 digs.
- The Lady Knights compiled 8.0 total blocks. Hibbard led the team with two blocks and three block assists. Knickerbocker recorded a solo block and two block assists.
- The Lady Knights finished with a .254 hitting percentage, while the Hilltoppers posted a .043 attack percentage. Beck registered a .667 hitting percentage with her 11 kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED- The opening set featured eight tied scores and two lead changes. Trailing by two, 7-5, Beck brought the Hilltoppers string of three straight points to a halt. With the score knotted at 10 each, the Lady Knights put together their own collection of three-unanswered points. Holding a 14-13 lead, the Lady Knights went on an 11-2 run to close the match for a 25-15 set-win including three of the final four kills coming from Kren.
- In the second set, the Lady Knights held the lead from start to finish. The Lady Knights pushed their lead to 12-6 on back-to-back kills by Thiery and Beck followed by a Hilltoppers' error. Throughout the set, the Lady Knights used their lead to keep the Hilltoppers at bay before sealing a 25-18 win.
- The Lady Knights were challenged late in the third set by the Hilltoppers. Holding the lead for most of the set, the Lady Knights pushed their lead to 20-16. A Hilltoppers' 4-0 run tied the match at 20 each, leading to a battle until the final tied score at 21-21. The Lady Knights took over from there with four straight points beginning a Hibbard kill and ending with a Kren kill for a 25-21 win, clinching the match victory.
QUOTABLES | HEAD COACH MATT DARLING"I'm very pleased with our team's overall performance today, and I'm especially happy with the work we did on offense. We're making too many mistakes, still, but we're getting good offensive balance and big contributions from all of our hitters. Megan made good decisions and set great."
On the whole weekend:"I think this weekend prepared us for the upcoming start to the PSAC season. We needed to show that we can play well in four matches over two days, and we did it. We learned a few things that we need to work on this week in practice, and we'll get ready for our first match at Cheyney on Friday."
WHAT'S NEXTGannon travels to Cheyney for the opening day of the PSAC East/West Crossover Sept. 19, opening against the host Wolves at 11:30 a.m. before taking on Kutztown at 5 p.m. The next day, the Lady Knights will travel to West Chester to continue in crossover action.
