ERIE, Pa. - Gannon avenged an early season loss to Mercyhurst and clinched a spot in the upcoming PSAC Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 sweep of the Lakers on Tuesday evening at the Hammermill Center. The Golden Knights won by set scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-14.
 
"It feels good to have a spot in the (PSAC) tournament," said Gannon head volleyball coach Matt Darling following Tuesday's win. "In a season that hasn't gone exactly like we thought it would, its exciting for us to check the conference tournament bid off our list."
 
Gannon improved to 23-5 overall and 10-3 in the PSAC West with the win. The victory is the Golden Knights' eighth in their last nine matches dating back to Oct. 12. Mercyhurst, on the other hand, slipped to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in PSAC play.
 
Gannon hit .254 with 44 kills and just 14 attack errors in the victory. The Knights also held a 9-8 advantage in blocks and an 8-2 edge in service aces.
 
Ashley McClung (Charleston, W.Va./George Washington) had a big night for Gannon, finishing the match with 13 kills and four total blocks. McClung hit .345 with 13 kills and just three errors on 29 total attacks. Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) also finished in double-figures with 12 kills, five digs and a pair of blocks. Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) chipped in six kills and four block assists.
 
"Ashley (McClung) had a big night on the attack and on the block for us," Darling added. "She scored a lot of points for us. In the first matchup against Mercyhurst, they ate us up on the left side, and tonight Ashley and our middle blockers really put up some good blocking numbers to limit their production on that side."
 
Ashley Beyers (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) guided the offense by passing out 35 assists. The senior also notched 14 digs to record her 17th double-double performance of the season.
 
In addition to Beyers, Kirsten Leitshuh (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way West High School) and Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) paced Gannon defensively with 14 and 12 digs, respectively.
 
Mercyhurst managed just 21 kills and committed 19 attack errors in the setback. Madison Kasper paced the Lakers with six kills and four blocks assists on Tuesday evening. Alexa Mitchell passed out a team-high 10 assists for the Lakers, while Hannah Vuylsteke led Mercyhurst defensively with 25 digs.
 
Gannon will now prepare for another rivalry matchup with a road trip to Edinboro on Friday evening. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Edinboro edged Gannon in a five-set thriller (25-22, 17-25, 25-15, 19-25, 12-15) back on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the Hammermill Center.