Video Highlights & Interview

THE BASICS
Score: at Gannon 3, Slippery Rock 0
Set scores: (25-22, 25-20, 25-18)
Records: Gannon (12-0, 5-0), Slippery Rock (10-3, 4-1 PSAC)
Location: Erie, Pa. – Hammermill Center
The Short Story: The Gannon women's volleyball team remains unbeaten this season with a sweep over visitor Slippery Rock Friday evening at the Hammermill Center to improve to 5-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play and 12-0 overall. The Lady Knights are one of three teams to remain unbeaten in conference action joining Clarion and Edinboro, who the Lady Knights face Saturday afternoon. 
 
THE BASICS
- Junior Lynne Hibbard (West Barnstable, Mass./Barnstable) led the Lady Knights' attack with a match-best 12 kills and a .677 hitting percentage with zero errors. Hibbard added a block assist.
- Sophomore Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) compiled nine kills and nine digs.
- Recording a double-double, senior Megan Wendel (Aurora, Ohio/Kenston) registered 43 assists and 13 digs.
- On the defensive side, senior Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio/Huron) collected a match-high 17 digs.
- The match featured 11 total tied scores and two lead changes.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In the opening set, Hibbard and Kren combined for 13 of the Lady Knights' 17 kills, as the team hit a .333 hitting percentage (17-4-39). Taking a 6-2 lead to open the match, Kren accounted for half the Lady Knights' total. The Rock trailed the Lady Knights through most of the opening set until the visitors tied it at 17 on a service error. A service ace by freshman Sara Crandall (Cattaraugus, N.Y./Cattaraugus-Little Valley) forced SRU into a needed timeout with the Lady Knights leading 21-18. A kill by Hibbard and Kren with a Rock attack-error pushed the Lady Knights to within set point. Refocusing during a GU timeout, Kren punched the 25-22 win with a kill off an assist by Wendel.
- The second set was defined by seven tied scores and a score change. The two squads slugged it out, as both recorded their best hitting performances of the evening. The last tied score occurred at 7-7 before the Lady Knights took control. Despite the Lady Knights pushing their lead to 9-7, Slippery Rock pulled to within one. The Lady Knights continued to push their lead point-by-point, as they went on a 6-1 run to force a SRU timeout late in the set. GU used their run to create enough insurance in route to a 25-20 victory.  
- The Lady Knights raced out to a 7-1 run to open the match-deciding set including two kills each by sophomore Jordyn Thiery (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) and senior Emily Carver (Stow, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt). The Rock managed to pull within three of the Lady Knights' lead, 11-8, before the home squad went on a 4-1 run to extend their lead to 15-9. A string of three unanswered points forced the Lady Knights into a timeout with the score at 15-12. Following a Slippery Rock timeout with the Lady Knights in the lead, 22-16, back-to-back kills by freshman Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and Hibbard brought the team to the brink of the match-point. Off a Wendel set, Thiery recorded the kill for a 25-18 win and sweep of Slippery Rock.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Lady Knights improved to 27-10 in the all-time series against Slippery Rock.
- Entering the match, the Lady Knights received votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division II National Rankings.
- This season, the Lady Knights remain unbeaten at the Hammermill Center with a 15-0 record in sets played.
- The Lady Knights are one win away from matching their best start since the 2003 season when the team opened with a 13-0 overall record.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Gannon remains at the Hammermill Center Sept. 27, when the team hosts Edinboro at 2 p.m.