Ashley Kerestes Lauren Sampson 2019 Elite Eight
1
Gannon Gannon 30-7,17-1 PSAC
3
Winner Neb.-Kearney UNK 36-0,20-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Gannon Gannon
30-7,17-1 PSAC
1
Final
3
Neb.-Kearney UNK
36-0,20-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Gannon Gannon 25 22 17 15 (1)
Neb.-Kearney UNK 19 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | David Rung, Director of Athletics Media Relations

Thrilling Season Comes To End As Gannon Pushes Unbeaten Nebraska-Kearney In NCAA Elite Eight

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney 3, No. 7 Gannon 1
  • Set Scores: 19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-15
  • Records: Gannon 30-7 | Nebraska-Kearney 37-0
  • Location: Metropolitan State University | Auraria Event Center | Denver, Colo.
  • The Short Story: Gannon did not back down from an undefeated opponent in the NCAA quarterfinals, taking the first set in convincing fashion against second-seeded Nebraska-Kearney, but the Lopers slowly chipped away to earn a 3-1 victory at the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Elite Eight Thursday evening.
 
GAME DAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
  • Gannon got off to a strong start against the No. 2 team in the country, with Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) putting down four of her first five swings for kills. Two of those came on the first five points around a Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) ace, as the Knights built a 4-1 advantage.
  • UNK used a replay review challenge to get it to 7-6, then tied it up with an ace off the tape, but a Sampson kill put Gannon back up. The Knights pushed their lead out to 11-8, and after a short Loper rally, Gannon took advantage of free balls to see Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute), Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) and Smith register kills. That made it 16-12 and forced a UNK timeout.
  • Smith turned in the first block of the match for the Knights coming out of that timeout, and a stellar dig from Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) kept a ball alive on a wild rally, with Smith putting the ball away as Gannon looked to keep the Lopers from creeping back into it. UNK managed to put together a 4-1 run to get within two points and force a timeout, but Gannon bounced right back
  • McClung put a good swing on the ball to get a kill to stop the run, and Greenfield put back an overpass to get the Knights within two points of claiming the set. Ending it much as it started, Sampson notched back-to-back aces to close it out.
 
Set 2
  • After UNK opened the second set with the first point, a Greenfield kill tied it up before two straight attack errors gave Gannon a 3-1 lead. Excellent passing from the Lopers kept them alive in a number of rallies, and let them roll off five straight points, eventually turning it into a 9-4 lead that forced a Gannon timeout.
  • The second seed netted three more points out of the timeout to build the largest lead of the set at 12-4, but Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) forced a kill through the block, and Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) buried an overpass to get things moving in the right direction. An attack error from UNK followed up by a strong swing from Greenfield forced a Loper timeout with the score 14-10.
  • A pair of rockets from the back row from Smith came around an excellent adjustment on a ball from McClung, and it was quickly a two-point game at 15-13. The Lopers followed that up with a block and three straight kills to get back out to a six-point lead at 19-13.
  • That lead continued out to 23-17, but the Knights would not make it an easy out in the second set. McClung put down a kill, followed by a Kenzie Lasher (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong) ace. UNK got it to set point, but a service error gave the ball back to Gannon, and kills from Kerestes and Sampson made it 24-22 before the next swing just missed the line and tied up the match at 1-1.
 
Set 3
  • McClung ripped off kills on two of the first four points of the third set to start off a tight game. Smith put the Knights back in front with a kill at 5-4, and she started a 3-0 burst with back-to-back kills. Greenfield followed that up with a solo block to make it an 8-6 Gannon lead.
  • Both teams got their offense running through the middle portion of the set, with Greenfield and McClung putting down kills to make it an 11-9 score after UNK drew even. Smith notched big kills to keep the Lopers from going in front, but UNK went on a 4-0 run to build the first lead over two points of the set at 17-14 and draw a timeout from the Knights.
  • UNK managed to hold on to the momentum, putting up four straight points to build a 21-15 edge. Greenfield momentarily stopped the run with a kill, and Gannon got to within 21-17 after an attack error, but the Lopers ran off the final four points of the set to take the lead in the match for the first time.
 
Set 4
  • Greenfield took advantage of quick attacks in the middle to get Gannon on the board and then push her squad in front 2-1 early in the fourth. Smith made it 3-1 with another kill, and put the Knights ahead once again at 3-2 with another, but UNK followed that up with five straight points.
  • McClung and Kerestes took advantage of matchups with a pair of kills to keep the Knights in it, keeping it at 9-6. Another three-point run from the Lopers drew a timeout from Gannon, and the Knights responded to the break with two of the next three points on a quick attack from Beyers and an attack error.
  • Smith bounced one off the block to keep Gannon in it, and McClung and Kerestes again notched kills, but UNK dug up everything to stay alive and finished off the set on a 3-1 run to earn the quarterfinal victory.
 
 
GAME NOTES
  • 2019 marked the 11th consecutive NCAA tournament berth for the Knights under coach Matt Darling, and the second trip to the Elite Eight in three seasons after reaching the national semifinals in 2017.
  • With a 30-7 final record, Gannon has reached at least 30 wins for the fourth consecutive season and eighth time in program history.
  • Smith led the way offensively for the Knights, notching 19 kills on .325 hitting to go with 13 digs. The senior recorded a double-double in seven of her final 10 matches, and averaged 4.21 kills per set on .231 hitting over that span.
  • Greenfield took a career-high 30 swings as a focal point of the attack, putting up 11 kills. The sophomore also registered a pair of blocks.
  • McClung turned in 14 kills on the night, the sixth time this season she's put up at least 14.
  • Leitshuh led an impressive effort from the back line with 23 digs, the 12th time this season the senior has crossed the 20-dig threshold in a match. She will finish her Gannon career second all-time in program history with 1,884 digs.
  • Beyers put up at least 10 assists per set for the 17th consecutive outing to cap her excellent junior season, going for 43 Thursday evening. That went with eight digs, two kills, an ace and a block. With another season yet to play, Beyers stands fourth in program history with 3,277 assists.
  • Sampson got things rolling early with an ace, and finished the night with five of them to lead the Knights. That was one off her career high, set just five days ago in the Atlantic Region championship match against Wheeling, where she had six, giving the sophomore 11 aces over her last seven sets (1.57 per).
 
UP NEXT
  • Gannon will look to make it a 12th straight trip to the NCAA tournament and a third Elite Eight in four years when the 2020 season commences in September.
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