Gannon vs. Edinboro
Mike Gallagher
3
Winner Edinboro EU 12-1,5-0 PSAC
2
Gannon Gannon 15-3,4-1 PSAC
Winner
Edinboro EU
12-1,5-0 PSAC
3
Final
2
Gannon Gannon
15-3,4-1 PSAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Edinboro EU 22 25 15 25 15 (3)
Gannon Gannon 25 17 25 19 12 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Sampson's Big Night Not Enough as Gannon Sees Winning Streak Snapped

ERIE, Pa. – Senior Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) turned in another big effort on Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough for the Gannon women's volleyball team as the Lady Knights fell in five sets (25-22, 17-25, 25-15, 19-25, 12-15) to Edinboro at the Hammermill Center. The Lady Knights are now 15-3 and 4-1 in the PSAC West, while Edinboro is the lone undefeated team in the division at 5-0, with a 12-1 overall record.  The loss snapped a six-match winning streak for Gannon, while Edinboro has now won eight contests in a row.

All three of Gannon's defeats have come in five sets, the first two to nationally-ranked teams. The three teams to beat the Lady Knights – Nebraska-Kearney, West Florida, and Edinboro – own a combined record of 43-5.

Sampson would finish the night with a match-high 20 kills, one off her season high of 21 against West Florida. The senior outside hitter has 11 matches with 10-or-more kills. In the process she moved up one spot past Mandy Altoman into 15th place in career kills with 1,052. That leaves her eight shy of 14th place.

"Most of the credit tonight has to go to Edinboro," related head coach Matt Darling after the match. "They played harder, cleaner, smarter, and they were the more aggressive team. That's a winning formula. Tonight they were the one's who played by that formula. The bottom line is it was not necessarily a losing performance, but tonight Edinboro was better."

The match was dominated by defense and long rallies, with 27 ties and nine lead changes. Tied at 2-2 after four sets, the fifth set featured five ties but just one lead change. Gannon would hold a slim lead early in the set, with a Sampson kill providing the Lady Knights with the final lead at 5-4. Edinboro ran off three straight points to take the lead for good at 7-5. Gannon closed to within a point on four occasions, the last at 13-12 on Sampson's 20th kill of the night. But Edinboro scored the final two points on an Abby Monn kill and a hitting error.  

In a sign of what was in store for the evening, the first set saw the teams battles to 11 ties and 4 lead changes. A Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) kill gave the Lady Knights the lead for good at 22-21 as they went on to a 25-22 victory.

Edinboro would lead the second set from start to finish, prevailing 25-17. Gannon would return the favor in the third set, once again falling behind early but then sprinting down the stretch. Gannon led 8-4, before Edinboro ran off seven straight points to take an 11-8 advantage. A Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) service ace knotted the score at 11-11. Tied at 13-13, Gannon ran off the next four points to take control. The Lady Knights finished the third set on a 12-2 run, scoring the final five points. A Deinek kills gave Gannon the 25-15 win and a 2-1 lead.

The Fighting Scots enjoyed the late-match run in the fourth set. A string of three straight points on a Deinek kill and back-to-back kills by Sampson closed Gannon's deficit to 20-17, but Edinboro knotted the match at 2-2 with five of the final seven points.
The match was as close statistically as the final score.  Gannon owned a hitting percentage of .162 while Edinboro wasn't much better at .173. The Lady Knights had 99 digs and Edinboro 103, with the Fighting Scots totaling 14.0 blocks (5 solo, 18 assists) and Gannon 8.0 (1 solo, 14 assists). Gannon recorded 6 service aces and Edinboro finished with 7.

In addition to Sampson's 20 kills, Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) had a season-high 16 kills and Deinek 11. Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) finished with 48 assists along with 19 digs and a pair of block assists. Freshman Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) led the defensive effort with 23 digs, her fourth match this year with 20-or-more digs. Katie Becht (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) added 16 digs and had 15. Greenfield had a block solo and 4 block assists.

All five of Edinboro's players who recorded a kill finished in double figures, led by Monn and Bella Burrelli with 12 apiece.

Gannon looks to start a new winning streak on Friday, October 8 facing another local rival when the Lady Knights make the short trip to play at Mercyhurst. The match is set to start at 7:05 p.m. at the MAC.
 
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