Gannon Volleyball returned for day-2 of the Wayne State Warrior Invitational in Detroit, Mich. The Lady Knights got ahead in match one by winning the first two sets but Minnesota State-Mankato rallied back, winning the final three sets. Gannon fell to the Mavericks, 25-21, 25-22, 10-25, 22-25, 12-15. The Lady Knights then rallied in match two against the host Warriors. Gannon dropped the first set but took the remaining three for the victory. GU won, 23-25, 26-24, 25-10, 25-21.

Minnesota State-Mankato 3, Gannon 2

Gannon took an early 8-4 advantage in set one on a Sara Crandall (Cattaraugus, N.Y./Cattaraugus-Little Valley) service ace. The Mavericks swung back with a 5-2 run to pull within 10-9. Three-consecutive kills from Lydia Lukomski (Portville, N.Y./Portville Central) and Kelsey Ansec (Solon, Ohio/Solon) widened the margin back to four at 13-9. Fast forward to Gannon clinging to a 23-21 lead, Ashton Lee of Minnesota St.-Mankato registered a service error followed by a Maggie Wilhelm (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) service ace to seal a 25-21 set victory.

Back-and-forth play in set two had the Mavericks and Lady Knights tied at eight. Gannon produced a 10-5 run with kills from Wilhelm and Ansec to jump out to an 18-13 lead. With Gannon hanging on to a 23-22 lead, two Maverick miscues propelled the Lady Knights to a 25-22 victory.

Set three belonged to the Mavericks. MSM jumped out to a quick 15-3 lead. Gannon got back to within single-digits on kills from Rebekah Smith (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili), Lexi Johnson (Chandler, Ariz./Basha) and Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder). The Lady Knights couldn't make the comeback and dropped the set, 25-10.

Drama unfolded late in set four with the Lady Knights down 22-18 and on-the-comeback. A Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) kill and attack error from the Mavericks had Gannon to within two, 22-20. The Mavericks then took three of the next five points to preserve a 25-22 set victory.

Gannon found itself down 4-1 in the final set before rallying for a 10-8 lead. Kills from Ansec, Wilhelm, Leitshuh and Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) helped spur that 9-4 run. A Minnesota State-Mankato timeout helped swing the momentum back in their favor for the final run of the match, taking seven of the final nine points, winning 15-12.

Ansec led the Lady Knights with 16 kills while chipping in five digs. Wilhelm and Leitshuh also added eight kills. Carolyn Knollman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy) led GU with 38 assists. Gannon dropped to 2-1 while the Mavericks elevated to 2-1.

Gannon 3, Wayne State 1

Wayne State had early momentum as they started the match on an 8-3 run. Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) swung the momentum in favor of the Lady Knights with a kill that kicked off a 7-2 run. The set was tied at every number between 10 and 15. The Warriors then reeled off five-straight points to go up 20-15. Gannon climbed back to within 24-23 but the set-point went in favor of the Warriors.

The second set came down to the wire as the teams were tied at 23. Hailey Richardson of Wayne State crushed a ball to put the Warriors up 24-23 once again. A Wayne State service error couldn't close the deal as the set was tied at 24 with Gannon serving. The freshman Kerestes delivered a timely kill to put the Lady Knights up 25-24. Gannon closed out the set with block from the duo of Anne-Mari Kaur (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn Lillekula Upper Secondary School) and Kerestes, GU winning the set 26-24.

Gannon dominated the third set. Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) registered four of her career-high 11 kills in the set. The Lady Knights went up 15-6 before the Warriors called timeout to reset. Gannon kept the pedal down, however, continuing with an 8-2 run to go up 23-8. An Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) kill and attack error from Wayne State gave Gannon the set, 25-10.

Leitshuh opened the fourth set with a liner that found the floor to give Gannon some early momentum. Leitshuh and Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) continued their assault, putting Gannon up 9-7. Gannon began to pull away after producing a 7-3 run to go up 16-10. Wayne State was determined to get back in the set and used several GU errors to climb back to 19-18. Leitshuh ended the run with a kill, Gannon going on to take the set 25-21.

Leitshuh led the Lady Knights with 13 kills while also adding 10 digs. Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) added 11 kills alongside seven digs. Gannon improved to 3-1 while Wayne State suffered its first loss, dropping to 3-1.

 Head coach Matt Darling was proud of the way the team responded in match number two.

"We had quite a day, losing a heart breaker in the morning before pulling off the upset in the last match.  The players showed great ability to rebound from the five-set loss; we were focused and energized tonight."

Gannon will return home for the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational on September 8^th and 9^th. The Lady Knights will play four contests over the two-day tournament.