WHEELING, W. Va. – The Gannon Volleyball team never gave up in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday (Dec. 2) afternoon. The Lady Knights found themselves down two sets to one against Fairmont State and battled back to win in five sets to advance to the second round of the tournament. The Lady Knights defeated the Fighting Falcons, 21-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-10.
The match saw 34 ties and 22 lead changes throughout the five sets.
Set one saw Fairmont State edge out to an 11-8 advantage before Gannon went on a 12-5 run to take a 20-16 lead. Fairmont State's Mackenzie Harrison responded with a kill and sparked a 9-1 run by the Fighting Falcons to take the set, 25-21.
Gannon responded in set two, jumping out to an 8-1 lead, capped off by a
Jordyn Thiery (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) service ace. Fairmont State clawed back to tie the match at 20 and then took a lead at 21-20.
Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio /Solon) knotted it back up at 21 with a timely kill. The two teams traded points to get to 25 apiece. Both teams had opportunities to win the set but ultimately two Gannon kills from
Beka Smith (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) and
Lauren Beck (Chardon, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) sealed the set for Gannon, 27-25.
Set three went back and forth. Fairmont State led 23-21 before
Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio /Solon) took a
Carolyn Knollman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy) set and smashed it to the ground. Gannon pulled to within one at 23-22. A FSU attack error tied it all up at 23. Fairmont State responded with a Julia Shemaitis kill to go up 24-23. The Fighting Falcons finished off the set with a Rebecce Feeney kill, 25-23.
Gannon found themselves up 20-16 in set four before another Fighting Falcon rally ensued. Fairmont State rattled off a 7-4 run to pull within one at 24-23. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Player of the Year,
Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran), delivered a crucial kill to keep the match alive for the Lady Knights, 25-23.
The Lady Knights have dominated in the fifth set all season with a perfect 4-0 record and Friday's match was no different. The Lady Knights jumped out to a 3-0 advantage on two FSU miscues and a B. Smith kill. Fairmont State pulled to within 9-8 but Kren killed the rally with another timely kill. Gannon tallied six of the last eight points in the set, capped off by block assists from
Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and
Lexi Johnson (Chandler, Ariz./Basha).
Johnson recorded a career-high 12 kills in the match.
"I couldn't have done anything without my teammates," said Johnson. "They (teammates) supported me throughout the whole game."
Johnson also posted a season-high 15.5 points, had a .333 hitting percentage, blocked six balls and had two digs.
Kren tallied her 13th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs.
Sara Crandall (Cattaraugus, N.Y./Cattaraugus-Little Valley) notched 27 digs for the Lady Knights, just one off her season-high of 28 against Cedarville.
Gannon will play Edinboro in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Edinboro defeated Shippensburg in the first round, 3-2 to advance to the second round. Gannon has beaten Edinboro in two previous matchups this season. The match will be played on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 5 p.m. in Wheeling, W.Va.
