ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon Lady Knights traveled down to Fairmont, W.Va. on Tuesday (Oct. 24) evening, taking on the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons in a meaningful Atlantic-Region contest. The Lady Knights shut down the host Falcons in three sets, capturing the victory, 25-22, 25-17, 25-21.
In set one, Gannon and Fairmont State battled early, staying within two points of each other until Gannon got on a mini run. Up 10-9, the Lady Knights collected five of the next six points. The run included kills from
Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) and
Rebekah Smith (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili). Gannon led 15-10. The Fighting Falcons closed back to within 17-15, but couldn't get closer than two points. Up 24-22,
Maggie Wilhelm (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) closed out the set with a kill for the Lady Knights.
The second set began with FSU scoring the first three points before back-to-back Kerestes kills gave the Lady Knights some momentum. GU tied the match up at four and took its first lead at 6-5. The Lady Knights extended its lead to 10-6 on three R. Smith kills. The Lead ballooned to seven points midway through the set at 16-9. Kerestes and R. Smith were in on more timely kills. Gannon ran away with the set and won, 25-17.
The third set saw the Fighting Falcons back out to an early 3-0 lead before Gannon got some traction with a
Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) kill. The Lady Knights swung back and owned their own three-point lead at 8-5. The Lady Knights were in control, up 20-15, before Fairmont State threw in a last ditch effort, going on a 5-0 run to tie up the set at 20. Wilhelm stopped the run with a kill and the Lady Knights finished off the set, 25-22.
Ansec led Gannon with 15 kills, marking the fourth-straight contest she has paced the Lady Knights in the kill department. Ansec also sits at 991 career kills, only nine away from the milestone 1,000.
Fresh off ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors,
Sara Crandall (Cattaraugus, N.Y./Cattaraugus-Little Valley) issued 27 digs to lead the Lady Knights. The 27 digs also pushed Crandall past
Hannah Kren (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) (2013-16) for second place on Gannon's all-time career-digs list. Crandall has amassed 1,597 digs while Kren finished her career with 1,588.
Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) registered a season-high 14 digs on Tuesday night while also posting 21 assists.
Gannon hit 20 wins in a season for the ninth consecutive year under head coach
Matt Darling. The Lady Knights stand at 20-4 and have the most victories among any Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team. The loss for Fairmont State snaps its seven-match win-streak. The Fighting Falcons drop to 16-7 on the season.
The Lady Knights return home on Friday night against Kutztown. The Golden Bears and Lady Knights will begin at 7 p.m. in the Hammermill Center. Kutztown goes into the contest with a 7-16 record, 2-9 in the PSAC.
