CALIFORNIA (PA) VULCANS (9-6, 4-2 PSAC West) vs. GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (16-4, 4-2 PSAC West)
Date/Time: Friday, October 15, 2021 l 6:00 p.m.
Location: California, Pa. | Convocation Center
Live Coverage: LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
SLIPPERY ROCK (4-15, 1-5 PSAC West) vs. GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (16-4, 4-2 PSAC West)
Date/Time: Saturday, October 16, 2021 l 1:00 p.m.
Location: Slippery Rock, Pa. | Morrow Field House
Live Coverage: LIVE STATS
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon volleyball will return to PSAC West action with road matches at Cal U and Slippery Rock over the weekend. This weekend's action will get underway at 6 p.m. Friday at the Convocation Center in California, Pa. Gannon and Cal are currently in a two-way tie for third place in the conference standings entering the match. Gannon holds a narrow 22-19 all-time series lead over Cal U. Gannon won the last meeting between the programs back on Oct. 31, 2019 on the road. The Golden Knights swept Cal U by scores of 25-13, 25-14 and 25-11 at the Hammermill Center.
 
On Saturday, Gannon heads to Slippery Rock for a 1 p.m. start time at Morrow Field House. The Golden Knights hold a commanding 38-10 all-time series lead over The Rock. GU has won 22-straight matches against Slippery Rock, dating back to the 2009 season. SRU swept the season home-and-home during the 2008 season.
 
Gannon snapped a two-game skid with a 3-0 nonconference win over Walsh on Tuesday evening at the Hammermill Center. GU won by sets scores of 25-18, 25-13 and 25-14. Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) and Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) led Gannon in the victory with 10 and 9 kills, respectively. Deinek also recorded 11 digs to finish the match with a double-double. Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) also had a big day for the Golden Knights with a team-high 14 points. She finished the match with eight kills, five aces and two block assists.
 
THE CAL-GANNON SERIES
Gannon leads all-time series 22-19.
 
THE ROCK-GANNON SERIES
Gannon leads all-time series 38-10 (including 22 in a row).
 
A LOOK AT THE STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Gannon currently ranks 18th in the country (1st in the PSAC) in team hitting percentage at .257 this season. In addition, the Golden Knights are forcing opponents into the 7th-worst opponent hitting percentage (.110) this season. GU is second in the MEC in opponent hitting percentage, behind Shepherd from the PSAC East (.084).
 
Gannon also ranks in the top 25 nationally in aces (19th), digs (16th), assists (23rd) and kills (23rd).
 
Senior outside hitter Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) ranks 28th in the country in kills per set (3.83) and 18th in the country in points per set (4.61). Sampson leads the PSAC in points per set and ranks second in the league in kills per set.
 
Sampson also ranks 17^th in the country and second in the PSAC in aces per set, averaging 0.56 per set. Sampson has a team-high 29 services aces this season.
 
Setter Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) ranks 16th in the country in assists per set (10.73).
 
Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) (.302), Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) (.292), Ashely McClung (.290) and Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) (.266) all rank in the top 10 in the PSAC in hitting percentage this season.
 
GANNON WESTERN DIVISION FAVORITE IN PSAC COACHES' PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Knights were chosen the preseason favorite in the PSAC West, marking the fourth straight year they have been voted as a divisional favorite.
 
SAMPSON JOINS 1,000-KILL CLUB
Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) became the 18th Gannon volleyball player to record 1,000 career kills against D'Youville back on Sept. 28. The senior outside hitter recorded six kills on nine attacks during the first set against the Saints, boosting her career total to 1,003 kills. Sampson has recorded double-digit kills 11 times this season. Sampson currently has 1,065 career kills and ranks 14^th in school history on the all-time kills list. She needs just seven more kills to pass Ally Smith (2016-19) for 13^th all-time.
 
BEYERS MOVES INTO 2ND PLACE IN CAREER ASSISTS
Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland), Gannon's redshirt senior setter, has moved into second place in career assists at GU following her 26-assist performance recently against Seton Hill. The 2019 AVCA honorable mention All-American leads Gannon with 665 assists this season, boosting her career total to 3,942 assists. Megan Wendel holds the GU career record with 4,244 assists.
 
Beyers also needs just four more digs to reach 1,000 for her GU career.
 
KERESTES LOOKING TO CAPTURE CAREER BLOCKS RECORD
Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) entered the 2021 season with 412 career total blocks, good for second all-time at Gannon. The redshirt senior middle blocker has added 43 blocks to her total this season, boosting her total to 455. Kerestes is just nine away from breaking Kara Cullen's career record of 463.