Tournament: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East/West Crossover
Location: Cope Hall – Cheyney, Pa.
The Short Story: The Gannon women's volleyball team opened conference action at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East/West Crossover Friday at Cope Hall on the campus of Cheyney University. The Lady Knights captured a pair of wins to open conference play at 2-0. In the opening match, the Lady Knights swept the host Wolves by set scores of 25-13, 25-11 and 25-18. The Lady Knights earned a four-set win over Kutztown by set scores of 25-16, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-17.
GAME ONE:Scores: Gannon 3, at Cheyney 0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-18)
Records: GU (8-0, 1-0 PSAC)/CU (1-5, 0-1 PSAC)
THE BASICS- Junior
Kayla Knickerbocker (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) led the Gannon Lady Knights to a sweep over the host Cheyney Wolves to open the day's action. Earning a double-double, Knickerbocker compiled team-highs in kills (13) and digs (17). Freshman
Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and sophomore
Lauren Beck (Chardon, Ohio / Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) each recorded 10 kills, as Ansec posted a team-best .421 hitting percentage.
- The Lady Knights held a 4.0 to 3.0 block advantage. Beck, junior
Morgan Walters (Girard, Ohio/Girard) and freshman
Maggie Wilhelm (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) recorded two block-assists each. Walters added 23 assists.
- At the service line, freshman
Maggie McKernan (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) posted a match-high six aces followed by Walters and Knickerbocker with three each.
- The Lady Knights recorded a .242 hitting percentage, posting a match-best .333 in the second set.
HOW IT HAPPENED- The Lady Knights opened with a 25-13 victory in the first set. Holding a 5-4 lead, the Lady Knights went on an 11-3 run over the host Wolves including to service aces by Walters to close the run. The Lady Knights collected six aces in the set, including the final match-point by Walters, who accounted for half of the team's total.
- In the second set, the Lady Knights captured a 6-1 lead with two Knickerbocker service aces. The Lady Knights pushed their lead to 16-9 before finishing the match on an 8-2 run for a 25-11 victory and 2-0 lead in the match. Redshirt sophomore
Lisa Gropler (St. Louis, Mo. / Visitation Academy) closed out the set at the service line for GU, leading to four attack errors and the win.
- Trailing 3-0, the Wolves strung together five straight points to take their first lead of the match, 5-3. The Wolves managed to hold the advantage until McKernan collected three consecutive service aces to swing the momentum Gannon's way. Holding a 21-15 lead, McKernan helped seal the Lady Knights' victory late with her second stretch of registering three service aces. The Lady Knights sealed the 25-18 win for the sweep of the Wolves to open PSAC action.
GAME TWO:Scores: Gannon 3, Kutztown 1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17)
Records: GU (9-0, 2-0 PSAC)/KU (5-3, 0-2 PSAC)
THE BASICS- Senior
Emily Carver (Stow, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt) led the Lady Knights with 15 kills along with a solo block and four block assists.
- The Lady Knights dominated at the net, collecting 12.0 blocks to clinch the win. Joining Carver with four block assists were sophomore
Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran), senior
Lynne Hibbard (West Barnstable, Mass./Barnstable) and Beck.
- Sophomore
Jordyn Thiery (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley), senior
Megan Wendel (Aurora, Ohio/Kenston), senior
Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio/Huron) and Kren each reached double figures in digs. Thiery led the Lady Knights with 17 followed by Graham with 15, Kren with 14 and Wendel with 11.
- Beck posted a team-best .667 hitting percentage with four kills followed by Carver at .538.
- Kren recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 13 assists, while Wendel posted a team-high 22 assists.
- The Lady Knights posted a .260 hitting percentage compared to the Golden Bears' .128. Kutztown outhit the Lady Knights in the second set, which helped clinch the 25-23 win.
- The match featured 15 tied scores and five lead changes, including four in the third set.
HOW IT HAPPENED- The Lady Knights used a 9-3 lead over the Golden Bears to provide the needed insurance throughout the set. Holding a four-point lead, 19-15, the Lady Knights recorded three unanswered points before forcing a Golden Bears' timeout. Back-to-back kills by Carver sealed the Lady Knights' 25-16 win in the opening set.
- Following a kill by Kren to tie the set at five each, the Golden Bears scored six straight to take an 11-5 lead. The Lady Knights tied the set at 13 before the Golden Bears put together a 13-3 run to capture a 25-22 victory, tying the match at one each.
- The third set included six tied scores and four lead changes. Trailing 17-11, the Lady Knights put up six unanswered points including two Wendel service aces to erase the Golden Bears' lead. After tying the set at 17-17 and 19-19, the Lady Knights closed the match on a 6-1 run for a 25-20 win in the third set.
- With the score tied at 8-8 in the fourth set, the Lady Knights went on a 5-0 run to take the lead. Despite the Golden Bears pulling within two of the Lady Knights' 13-11 lead, GU tacked on four points to push its advantage to 17-11. The two teams battled down the stretch, as the Lady Knights and Golden Bears went point-for-point before earning a 25-17 win and a 4-1 match-victory.
QUOTABLES | HEAD COACH MATT DARLING"We had to battle for two wins today, but we are happy with the results. Our middles played well, especially
Emily Carver, who sparked us in the second match.
Morgan Walters and
Megan Wendel set well, and
Kelsey Ansec did a nice job in both matches."
WHAT'S NEXTGannon travels to West Chester to continue in PSAC East/West Crossover action Saturday. The Lady Knights open the day against the host Golden Rams at 10 a.m. before closing out the weekend against East Stroudsburg at 3:30 p.m.
