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Women's Volleyball Josh Hill, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

PREVIEW: Top-Seeded Gannon Women’s Volleyball Hosts ESU in PSAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 1-seed Gannon (28-1, 17-1 PSAC) vs. No. 8-seed East Stroudsburg (20-10, 10-8 PSAC)
  • What: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinals
  • When: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018
  • Where: Erie, Pa. – Hammermill Center
  • Time: 7 p.m.
  • Game Program: Click Here
  • Live Video: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here

MATCH INFORMATION
General Admission Tickets: $10 for adults | $5 Non-Gannon students
All Gannon and East Stroudsburg students are admitted free of charge by showing school ID.
Directions: To Hammermill Center | GPS Address: 109 University Square, Erie, PA 16501
 
PSAC TOURNAMENT COVERAGE  
SERIES INFORMATION
  • All-Time Series: Gannon leads 14-3
  • Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2018 – at East Stroudsburg 3, Gannon 0 (22-25, 27-29, 21-25) | Box Score
  • How It Happened: Gannon women's volleyball, ranked 14th in the nation at the time, was handed its only loss of the 2018 season in a road match at East Stroudsburg. Despite the 3-0 final score, the match was extremely competitive with 24 ties and 10 lead changes. The second set saw 15 ties and seven total lead changes. Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) and Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), a freshmen duo that have proven to be among the best in the nation, paced the Lady Knights with 11 kills each.

TEAM LINKS  
GANNON NOTES/STROYLINES
  • Gannon women's volleyball has a 28-1 record this season under head coach Matt Darling. It's the tenth consecutive season the Lady Knights have reached the 20-win plateau, qualifying for the NCAA tournament each of the last nine years.
  • Gannon advanced to the PSAC Championship game last season and made a trip to the DII Final Four. The Lady Knights are a perfect 9-0 in home matches this season, completing a perfect home slate with a 3-0 sweep of Mercyhurst on October 30.
  • The Lady Knights rank second nationally in opponent hitting percentage, limiting teams to .097 mark overall. Meanwhile, Gannon is hitting at a .255 clip, which ranks 20th across NCAA DII.
  • Gannon is third nationally with 2.35 service aces/set. Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) leads the PSAC and ranks fifth nationally with .58 aces/set. Beyers, who is the team's primary setter, has dished out 940 assists this season and sits in ninth place among Gannon's all-time assists leaders with 1,763 assists for her career as a sophomore.
  • Sampson paces the team with 277 kills while McClung and Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) have put down 239 each.
  • Smith has put together a strong stretch to close out the regular season and leads the Lady Knights with 3.23 kills/set. The Penfield, N.Y. native has collected 52 kills on 111 total attacks for a .468 hitting percentage over the last three matches. She enters the conference tournament following a career-high 21 kills to conclude the regular season against Edinboro last Saturday.
  • Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) has played a versatile role for the Lady Knights this season, serving primarily as the libero. She leads the squad with 447 digs in 2018 and has posted 20 or more digs in nine matches this fall.
  • Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) paces the Lady Knights with 85.0 total blocks in 2018.
  • Lexi Johnson (Chandler, Ariz./Basha) is the lone senior of the 2018 roster. She has been a driving force at the net for the Lady Knights with 68.0 total blocks, which ranks second on the team.
 
GANNON WINNING STREAKS: BY THE NUMBERS
  • The Lady Knights enter the conference tournament on a high note, winning each of their past 17 matches. Below is a breakdown of Gannon's winning streaks over the past eight seasons:
    • Year: Number of consecutive wins (Dates spanned)
      • 2017: 8 straight wins (9/23-10/14)
      • 2016: 14 straight wins (10/15-12/2)
      • 2015: 6 straight wins (9/11-9/19)
      • 2014: 13 straight wins (9/5-9/27)
      • 2013: 7 straight wins (9/20-9/28)
      • 2012: 7 straight wins (twice) (9/14-9/22 and 10/19-11/3)
      • 2011: 10 straight wins (9/9-9/24)
      • 2010: 6 straight wins (10/8-10/15)
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
  • East Stroudsburg boasts four conference titles in school history.
  • The Warriors are under the direction of head coach Kevin Rodgers, who is in his second season at the helm of the Warriors.
  • Jasmine Williams is first in the conference and 14th nationally with 1.30 blocks/set.
  • Sarah Smith has recorded 10+ kills in 26 of 30 contests, and she has hit over 25 percent on 19 occasions.
 
UP NEXT
  • The winner of Tuesday's matchup advances to play the winner between No. 4 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 5 California (Pa.) in a PSAC semifinal on Friday, November 9.
  • The semifinals and final will be held at the site of the highest-remaining seed after Tuesday's contests.
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Players Mentioned

Ashley Beyers

#5 Ashley Beyers

S
5' 11"
Sophomore
Pre-Veterinary Medicine/Biology
Lexi Johnson

#17 Lexi Johnson

MB
5' 11"
Senior
Nursing
Ashley Kerestes

#22 Ashley Kerestes

MB
6' 0"
Sophomore
Physician Assistant/Nursing
Toni Leitshuh

#18 Toni Leitshuh

OH
5' 9"
Junior
Biology
Ally Smith

#11 Ally Smith

OH
5' 9"
Junior
Early Childhood Education
Ashley McClung

#4 Ashley McClung

S/RS
6' 1"
Freshman
Environmental Engineering
Lauren Sampson

#8 Lauren Sampson

OH
5' 10"
Freshman
Physical Therapy

Players Mentioned

Ashley Beyers

#5 Ashley Beyers

5' 11"
Sophomore
Pre-Veterinary Medicine/Biology
S
Lexi Johnson

#17 Lexi Johnson

5' 11"
Senior
Nursing
MB
Ashley Kerestes

#22 Ashley Kerestes

6' 0"
Sophomore
Physician Assistant/Nursing
MB
Toni Leitshuh

#18 Toni Leitshuh

5' 9"
Junior
Biology
OH
Ally Smith

#11 Ally Smith

5' 9"
Junior
Early Childhood Education
OH
Ashley McClung

#4 Ashley McClung

6' 1"
Freshman
Environmental Engineering
S/RS
Lauren Sampson

#8 Lauren Sampson

5' 10"
Freshman
Physical Therapy
OH