BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Down two sets, a thunderous response to win the third seemed to breathe some life into the Gannon volleyball team during Saturday's exhibition against Division I Bowling Green.
 
It wasn't enough to fully complete the comeback, but the Lady Knights proved they wouldn't roll over against the back-to-back defending Mid-American Conference regular season champions in what turned out to be a 3-1 (25-19, 25-10, 19-25, 26-24) victory for the Falcons.
 
Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) each posted double-doubles, with Smith going for 10 kills, 11 digs and three aces and Sampson adding 10 kills and 12 digs. Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) put up 32 assists, six kills on .500 hitting and seven digs.
 
"It's good to be off and running with the 2019 season," coach Matt Darling said. "There's plenty that we can learn from tonight's match. On the plus side, we saw some good performances from our block and our middles, as well as Ally Smith (Penfield, N.Y./Webster Schroeder). On the other hand, we certainly feel like the match exposed some holes that we'll begin to address in practice on Monday."
 
The Lady Knights jumped out to leads of 5-1 and 10-5 against the Falcons in the first set before an 8-1 run from the hosts put them in front. Gannon kept it close and tied the set twice, but BGSU would get an edge late to take the early match lead.
 
Smith collected five kills in that set, and Toni Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) turned in 10 digs.
 
The Falcons found a connection that worked in the second set, hitting .538 as a team to build a 2-0 advantage in the match with a 25-10 set victory. The slow play trickled into the third for the Knights, but not for long, as a 6-1 run from the guests pushed them ahead 8-7, their first lead in a set since early in the first.
 
While Bowling Green managed to tie it, a huge 10-1 run gave Gannon a 21-12 lead, and they held on through a late charge by the Falcons to earn the set win. Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) put up five kills on nine swings in the set, and Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) chipped in with four kills and six digs.
 
After seeing it tied 9-9 in the fourth, Bowling Green slowly started building a lead looking to close the match out, climbing to a 23-16 edge. Gannon answered though, with three straight kills and an ace forcing a Falcon timeout.
 
The hosts got it to match point on the next serve, but an error, followed by a block from Beyers and Aubree Lanman (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights), tied it at 24-24. Bowling Green managed to get the next two points to seal the set and escape with the win.
 
Four Knights recorded at least 10 digs, and the team totaled 4.0 blocks and five aces on the night.
 
Gannon will open up its regular season in less than two weeks at the Ferris State Invitational.