DALLAS – No. 8 Gannon won the final three sets to top Arkansas Fort Smith, 3-1, to advance to the silver bracket final on Friday afternoon at the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Championship Tournament at Dallas Convention Center.  

With the win, Gannon improves to 18-3 overall and will advance to the silver bracket final against No. 3 Hillsdale tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. ET. It will mark the third meeting this season between the Chargers and Golden Knights with each team having picked up a win. Hillsdale holds the edge in the all-time series, 22-13.

"I'm really impressed with the team's performance today," said head coach Matt Darling. "After a bit of shaky start, we hit our stride and picked up an impressive win against a strong opponent."

After dropping the first set, 26-24, Gannon opened the second frame building an 8-1 lead. The Knights didn't look back from there winning the second frame, 25-15, following a kill from Ashley Kerestes (Loves Park, Ill./Rockford Lutheran). Gannon continued to roll into set three sprinting out to an 11-4 lead after three straight kills. Gannon won the third frame, 25-6, to earn its largest margin of victory in a single set this season. After trading points to open set four, Gannon snatched a 15-11 edge with a kill from Lauren Sampson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson). Gannon didn't look back from there as Laura Bebinger (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) connected on a match-winning kill, 25-18, to secure the 3-1 win.

Sampson notched a double-double with a team-high 22 kills and 12 digs. She also added five aces to her stat line. Kerestes tallied 10 kills with three blocks, while Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) also reached double figures in kills with 11. Kenzie Lasher (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong) led the way on the defensive end with a team-high 16 digs, while Valeria Torres (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) rounded out the top performers with 13 digs.

"As we have advanced in this tournament, we're continuing to improve on offense and have better managed our errors," said Darling. "Now we get to play one more match, and only three other teams get to compete tomorrow. We feel fortunate to get a chance to break the tie against Hillsdale."

For more AVCA National Championship Tournament information click here.