Team
Terry Hancock (Wheeling Athletics)
3
Winner Gannon GAN 30-6
0
Wheeling WU 33-4
Winner
Gannon GAN
30-6
3
Final
0
Wheeling WU
33-4
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Gannon GAN 25 25 25 (3)
Wheeling WU 23 21 21 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Myles Johnson, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Second-Seeded Gannon Upends Top-Seeded Wheeling to Advance to NCAA Elite Eight

Gannon reaches the 30-win mark for the fourth straight year.

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: No. 2 Gannon 3, No. 1 Wheeling 0
  • Set Scores: 25-23, 25-21, 25-21
  • Records: Gannon 30-6, Wheeling 33-4
  • Location: Wheeling University | McDonough Center | Wheeling, W. Va.
  • The Short Story: Second-seeded Gannon upended top-seeded Wheeling, 3-0, to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in the last three years. Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) led the Knights with a match-high 15 kills with a career-best six service aces.
 GAME DAY MEDIA CENTER HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Both teams came out swinging in an opening set that featured 16 tie scores and four lead changes. The score was locked, 19-19, late in the frame until Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) smashed a kill give Gannon the one point edge, 20-19. The Knights then held off a Cardinal surge after Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) blasted the set-winning kill past the Wheeling defense to make the score 25-23.
  • The Knights rolled to a 7-0 lead in the second set to swing the momentum and force a Cardinal timeout. Gannon continued to apply pressure stretching their edge to 15-9 after a block from Smith and Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute). Wheeling then roared back to lock the frame, 21-21. Gannon answered back with four straight points with kills from Smith, Greenfield and McClung to win the frame, 25-21.
  • Gannon used a 5-0 run to open up a 7-3 edge in the third set. The Cardinals slowly chipped their way back to cut the deficit down to two, 22-20, late in the frame. Gannon then rattled off a 3-1 run highlighted by a match-winning kill from Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) seal the win, 25-21.
GAME NOTES
  • This season marks Gannon's 11th straight and 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
  • This season will mark Gannon's fifth appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight in program history (1991, 1992, 1993, 2017, 2019).
  • Gannon reached the 30-win mark for the fourth straight season.
  • Sampson posted a match-high 15 kills and a career-best six service aces. She also added seven digs.
  • Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) handed out a match-best 39 assists with eight digs.
  • Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) registered a team-best 18 digs. She has reached double digits in digs in her last 26 matches.
  • Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) added 14 digs with six kills.
ATLANTIC REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
  • Gabriella Johnson - Shippensburg
  • Peyton Lindblad - Shepherd
  • Haley Butler - Millersville
  • Audrey Francis - Wheeling
  • Stephanie Sylvester - Wheeling
  • Haley Kramer - Wheeling
  • Cassie Meyer - Wheeling
  • Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) - Gannon
  • Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) - Gannon
  • Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) - Gannon
  • Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) - Gannon
  • Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) - Gannon
UP NEXT
  • The Elite Eight is hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver at Auraria Event Center in Denver, Colo. on Dec. 12-14. Games times and opponents were not available at the time of release.
  • The full NCAA Division II Volleyball bracket can be viewed here.
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