ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon University Volleyball team captured a 3-1 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal victory over the Clarion Golden Eagles on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Gannon downed the Golden Eagles, 25-20, 25-17, 18-25, 25-18.
Video highlights and a
webcast replay are available for the match.
The victory, coupled with an upset involving the No. 8-seed Edinboro over the No. 1-seed Indiana (Pa.), gave Gannon the rights to host the PSAC semifinal and final rounds. No.2-seed Gannon will play the No. 6-seed West Chester at 7:30 p.m. while No. 4-seed Pitt-Johnstown takes on the No. 8-seed Edinboro at 5 p.m. The semifinal round will be on Friday, Nov. 17, with the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Gannon made it to the semifinals after staving off the Golden Eagles. Gannon took the first two sets in convincing fashion, 25-20 and 25-17. Clarion bounced back with a 25-18 victory in set three before Gannon closed out the match with a 25-18 fourth-set victory.
Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio/Solon) led the Lady Knights with 19 kills and a .364 hitting percentage. It's the 12
th-consecutive match Ansec has recorded at least 12 kills.
Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) had a solid evening from the floor with a team-high 42 assists, 16 digs and four block assists. The digs and blocks were both season-highs for the freshman.
With 11 kills,
Rebekah Smith (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) notched her 11
th double-digit kill performance of the season. Smith has also strung together three 10+ kill efforts in-a-row.
Five Lady Knights recorded 10 or more digs in the contest, including Beyers (16),
Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) (16),
Sara Crandall (Cattaraugus, N.Y./Cattaraugus-Little Valley) (12),
Maggie Wilhelm (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (11) and
Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) (10).
The Lady Knights improved to 27-5 on the season with the victory over Clarion. The Golden Eagles dropped to 20-12.
Both Gannon and Clarion were ranked in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rankings on Nov. 8. The Lady Knights owned the second seed while Clarion sat in the seventh position. The top eight teams make the NCAA tournament at season's end. The NCAA selection show will be Monday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
