If day-1 of the Tony Banner Invitational is any preview of the entire 2016 Gannon volleyball season then the Lady Knights are in for a heart-pumping season.
 
On Friday, Sept. 2, Gannon volleyball picked up two five-set victories against Cedarville and Lake Erie at the Tony Banner Invite hosted by Clarion Unviersity.
 
GU started game one by dropping its first two sets against Cedarville. The turnaround started in set three when the Lady Knights won by a slim 25-22 margin and carried that momentum in to sets four and five to beat the Yellow Jackets, 3-2. The five set scores were 25-27, 17-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-13.
 
Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) led the Golden Knights in game one with 18 kills and 23 digs, collecting a .349 hitting percentage along the way.
 
Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio /Solon) chipped in with 14 kills, three digs and four blocks. She produced four kills in the final set, ending set five with a kill to preserve a 15-13 victory.
 
"I give the team a lot of credit," said Gannon head coach Matt Darling."It's been a long time since we've come back from down 0-2 to win. Like it is so often, Hannah (Kren) and Lauren Beck (Chardon, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) created that momentum shift for us. That's what seniors do."
 
In game two the Lady Knights found themselves up two sets to none against the Lake Erie Storm. GU dropped sets three and four before rallying to win the decisive fifth set, 16-14. The five set scores were 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 16-14.
 
"This team has historically been really good at fifth sets over the past two years," said coach Darling. "I wasn't worried that we wouldn't perform in the fifth set, I didn't know we would win it but I knew we would perform well."
 
Beka Smith (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) led the Lady Knights in game two with 13 kills while also digging four balls and dishing out a block.
 
Gannon improves to 2-0 on the season. Cedarville and Lake Erie both drop to 0-1.
 
GU returns for day-2 of the Tony Banner Invite on Saturday (Sept. 3). The Lady Knights will see Merrimack College at 9 A.M. and Hillsdale College at 1 P.M.
 
 

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