ERIE, Pa. – Gannon redshirt senior setter Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) broke the program record for career assists on Friday evening during the Golden Knight's 3-0 victory over Slippery Rock in PSAC West action at the Hammermill Center. Beyers broke the record that was previously set by Megan Wendell during the 2014 season on the 24^th point of the first set against The Rock. The record-breaking assist was driven home for a kill by Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) to give GU a 24-13 advantage in the opening set.
 
"We are proud of Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) for breaking the career assist record tonight," said Gannon head volleyball coach Matt Darling following the match. "It's a really great accomplishment. This is a legit, four-year record-breaking performance by a player that's been so good since she stepped on the floor as a freshman. I'm really happy for her.
 
"It was also nice to see her break the record during the win. It was really a nice win for the team with four hitters recording double-figure kills," Darling added.
 
The win improves Gannon's record to 25-5 overall and 12-3 in PSAC West action. The Golden Knights have clinched a home match for the quarterfinal round of next week's PSAC Volleyball Tournament, which will begin for Gannon on Tuesday evening inside the Hammermill Center. The Golden Knights hold the tiebreaker over Edinboro and will clinch the top seed in the PSAC West with a win over Cal U on Saturday afternoon.
 
Beyers wrapped up her record setting night with 37 assists, 16 digs and a pair of block assists. She now has 4,271 career assists.
 
Beyers helped spread the ball around to four double-figure attackers during the match, as Gannon was led in kills by Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) with 14. Deinek, Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) and Ashely Kerestes all chipped in 10 kills apiece for Gannon, as the Golden Knights hit .273 in the match with 48 kills compared to just 15 attack errors. Gannon also held a 5-3 advantage in services aces.
 
With McClung's 14 kills on Friday, the senior needs just four more kills to become the 19^th player in Gannon volleyball history to surpass 1,000 kill milestone. McClung reached double-figures for the sixth time in the last seven matches on Friday evening.
 
Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had a big night defensively for Gannon with 22 digs to go with four assists. Kirsten Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way West High School) also tallied eight digs in the win, while Kenzie Lasher (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong) chipped in five.
 
Slippery Rock got a team-high five kills from Alayna Chizmar in the setback.
 
Gannon volleyball will host Cal U on senior day on Saturday afternoon. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
 
Following Saturday's senior day match, Gannon will honor eight seniors that will play their final home regular season match at the Hammermill Center. The Gannon seniors include Katie Becht (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland), Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute), Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran), Kenzie Lasher (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong), Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington), Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and Valeria Torres (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame).