DALLAS – No. 8 Gannon fell short against Texas A&M International, 3-2, and No. 12 Texas-Tyler, 3-0, in the first day of action at the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Championship Tournament at the Dallas Convention Center.
"Today didn't go the way we had hoped, but we'll definitely learn from the losses," said head coach
Matt Darling. "In the first match, we had five match points in the fourth set but couldn't finish, and that's something we need to learn how to do."
After dropping the first set against Texas A&M International, 25-23, Gannon bounced back to lock match following a 25-19 win in set two. The Golden Knights then carried that momentum over to win the third stanza, 25-22. However, the Dust Devils responded to edge out the Knights over the final two sets, 30-28, and 17-15 to win the match, 3-2.
Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) paced Gannon with a career-high 24 kills.
Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) also hit the 20-kill mark with a career-best 22 kills and four aces.
Kenzie Lasher (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong) led the Knights on the defensive end with 19 digs to go along with three aces.
Gannon closed the day dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 12 Texas-Tyler. The Knights came up short in the first set, 25-13. Gannon battled back in set two but couldn't pull off the win falling 25-20 before dropping the third and final frame, 25-15.
"In the second match, we saw a team that is just better than we are right now," said Darling. "There's nothing like experience to help a team grow, and hopefully we'll benefit from this in the long run. In the meantime, we have to get ready for two more tough matches tomorrow."
Gannon will have a quick turnaround and be back in action tomorrow morning featuring a rematch with No. 3 Hillsdale at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Knights upended the then-ranked No. 1 Chargers, 3-1, back on Feb. 27. Gannon will also face Texas Woman's tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. ET.
For more AVCA National Championship Tournament information
click here.
