Gannon erupted for its most goals since February 8, 2014 during Thursday's home opener.

Women's Water Polo 3/31/2016 9:59:00 PM Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Women's Water Polo Team Rolls Past Grove City in Home Opener

THE RUNDOWN

Final Score: at Gannon 17, Grove City 9
Records: Gannon (4-10), Grove City (3-7)
Location: Erie, Pa. - Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool
The Short Story: The Gannon women's water polo team out-scored Grove City 8-0 during a dominating first half and rolled to a 17-9 victory Thursday night in the 2016 home opener at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool.

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Box Score: Click Here

HOW IT HAPPENED

Despite the match starting approximately 40 minutes late due to lack of officials, Gannon started the contest without any issues. The Lady Knights needed only 33 seconds to get on the board when senior Rachel Bednarek (Windermere, Fla./Olympia) scored off an assist from sophomore Liz Barr (Honolulu, Hawaii/'Iolani School).
Senior Shanen Lazenby (Erie, Pa./McDowell) then sandwiched a pair of goals around a score from sophomore Francesca Williamson (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley Liberal Arts) for a 4-0 lead after one quarter.
All four first-quarter goals began with assists. Barr accounted for two of the four helpers. Lazenby and junior Emily Rodriguez (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) dished out the other two.
The onslaught continued with four more unanswered goals during the second quarter. Sophomore Lizzie Rodriguez (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) increased the advantage to 5-0, before the Lady Knights ripped off three scores during the final two minutes.
Barr netted a goal with 1:56 left on the clock. The Villano sisters than struck with two scores during the final 48 seconds. Junior Kayla Villano (Schnecksville, Pa./Milford) scored first, before sophomore Grace Villano (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) found the back of the net with 26 seconds remaining to push the Lady Knights into the intermission with an 8-0 edge.
Grove City scored its first goal 1:17 into the second half, ending a scoreless drought of 17 minutes and 17 seconds.
Sophomore Kristi Howe (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) responded with three of Gannon's next four goals. Williamson and senior Katie Batten (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) also tallied scores during the third period, giving the Lady Knights a 13-3 advantage after three quarters.
Junior Jessica Hydock (New Kensington, Pa./Burrell) opened the final frame with a goal to lift Gannon to its biggest lead of the evening at 14-3.
Grove City was able to stem the tide by scoring six of the final nine goals, but it wasn't enough as Gannon posted a 17-9 victory.

MATCH NOTES

The start of Thursday's match was delayed approximately 40 minutes due to the lack of officials.
Howe led 11 Lady Knights in the scoring column with three goals.
Batten, Grace Villano, Lazenby and Williamson added two scores each.
Kayla Villano, Bednarek, Lizzie Rodriguez, Barr, Hydock and senior Ashley Mann (Blasdell, N.Y./Frontier Central) chipped in one goal each.
Sophomore Abby Quinn (McKean, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) dished out three assists.
Barr and sophomore Colleen Bolmanski (Erie, Pa./McDowell) led the defensive unit with five steals each. Junior Christine Uht (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) had four takeaways.
Junior Emily Rodriguez (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) started her 14th consecutive match in goal, recording five saves without allowing a goal during the first half.
Freshman Isabelle Vieira (Erie, Pa. / Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy) played the second half between the pipes, turning away five shots and surrendering nine scores.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Grove City is ranked fourth in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III poll.
Thursday's contest represented Gannon's 2016 home opener.
Gannon completed a season sweep of Grove City with its ninth consecutive victory in the all-time series. The Lady Knights posted a 10-6 road victory on March 3.
Sophomore Alison Cooney (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) failed to score a goal for the first time this season.
Lazenby became the 21st player in program history to dish out 50 career assists.
Howe entered the contest with two goals through 13 matches, before recording her first career hat trick.
Batten scored her first two goals of the season.
Grace Villano produced her first multiple-goal performance of the season.
Both Lazenby and Williamson generated their sixth multiple-goal efforts of the campaign.
Gannon recorded season-highs in goals (17) and scoring margin (8).
The Lady Knights scored their most goals since a 21-10 victory against Notre Dame (Ohio) on February 8, 2014.
Bolmanski recorded a career-high in steals with five.
Barr had five steals in a match for the third time during the last two seasons.
Uht generated a career-high four steals for the third time at Gannon.
Hydock scored her first career goal while Mann netted her first score of the season.

UP NEXT

Gannon returns to action Thursday, April 7 at Penn State Behrend.
The local rivalry is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Penn State Behrend was among others receiving votes in the latest CWPA Division III Poll.
Gannon is 21-0 all-time against Penn State Behrend, including a 16-4 victory last season at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool.
The Lady Knights earned a 14-2 win during their last trip to the Junker Center in 2014.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Liz Barr: Sophomore; Nursing/Pre-Med

#3 Katie Batten: Senior; Accounting

#5 Rachel Bednarek: Senior; Physical Therapy

#8 Colleen Bolmanski: Sophomore; Sport and Exercise Science

#18 Alison Cooney: Sophomore; Psychology/Pre-Med

#7 Kristi Howe: Sophomore; Nursing

#15 Jessica Hydock: Junior; Nursing

#12 Shanen Lazenby: Senior; Undecided Science

#19 Ashley Mann: Senior; Occupational Therapy

#14 Abby Quinn: Sophomore; Nursing

Players Mentioned

#13 Liz Barr
: Sophomore; Nursing/Pre-Med

#3 Katie Batten
: Senior; Accounting

#5 Rachel Bednarek
: Senior; Physical Therapy

#8 Colleen Bolmanski
: Sophomore; Sport and Exercise Science

#18 Alison Cooney
: Sophomore; Psychology/Pre-Med

#7 Kristi Howe
: Sophomore; Nursing

#15 Jessica Hydock
: Junior; Nursing

#12 Shanen Lazenby
: Senior; Undecided Science

#19 Ashley Mann
: Senior; Occupational Therapy

#14 Abby Quinn
: Sophomore; Nursing

Gannon University Athletics

Scoreboard

Gannon Women's Water Polo Team Rolls Past Grove City in Home Opener

Players Mentioned

#13 Liz Barr

#3 Katie Batten

#5 Rachel Bednarek

#8 Colleen Bolmanski

#18 Alison Cooney

#7 Kristi Howe

#15 Jessica Hydock

#12 Shanen Lazenby

#19 Ashley Mann

#14 Abby Quinn

Players Mentioned

#13 Liz Barr

#3 Katie Batten

#5 Rachel Bednarek

#8 Colleen Bolmanski

#18 Alison Cooney

#7 Kristi Howe

#15 Jessica Hydock

#12 Shanen Lazenby

#19 Ashley Mann

#14 Abby Quinn