The Gannon University women's volleyball team completed a sweep of its weekend against Erie County rivals on Saturday.

In doing so, the Golden Knights clinched a PSAC playoff berth and remained in a tie for first place in the PSAC West.

Gannon swept Edinboro 25-23, 25-18, 25-21 at Highmark Events Center on Saturday, one day after sweeping crosstown rival Mercyhurst 3-0.

Coach Matt Darling's team improved to 18-5 overall and 11-1 in the PSAC West as it remained in a first-place tie with Clarion. The top four teams in the Western Division standings will advance to the PSAC Tournament, and Gannon has a five-game lead over the fifth-place team with four matches remaining on the conference schedule.

"We're kind of at the stage where we're just taking it one match at a time. We're happy to have two wins as opposed to any other outcome," Darling said. "We're in good shape in the conference standings. We understand that, but we know we still have work to do."

Gannon still could secure a first-round home match by finishing among the top two, and the Golden Knights are in the thick of the race for first place against a talented Clarion team.

In Saturday's victory over Edinboro (17-7, 7-4), freshman setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) stood out. She delivered 45 assists, and her setting accuracy helped Gannon to a lofty .396 hitting percentage, its second-highest of the season. (The Golden Knights hit .424 against Pitt-Johnstown on Sept. 17.)

"Offensively, it was one of our better matches of the year, I think. We were clean. We didn't make a lot of errors," Darling said. "I thought Bengisu set an absolutely brilliant match -- not only good decision making but just locating every ball. Consequently, our hitting stats looked really, really good, but that has a lot to do with the setter."

Senior middle blocker Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) led Gannon with 15 kills, zero attack errors, and an eye-popping .714 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high 15 points.

"Maggie's dynamic, and she and Bengisu were really dialed in today," Darling said. "I thought Bengisu did a good job of getting her the ball in certain situations. Maggie worked really hard at transitioning and gave herself some opportunities, and so she deserved it."

Sophomore outside hitter Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) added 13 kills with a .440 hitting percentage in another strong hitting performance. Junior outside hitter Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) had 10 kills, and sophomore right side Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added eight.

Defensively, sophomore libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) collected 16 digs, junior defensive specialist Lara Toruner (Istanbul, Turkey/Terakki Foundation) had 15 digs, and Blake added 10.

Gannon has now won 12 of its past 13 matches after starting the season 6-4.

GU will look ahead to a three-match week. The Golden Knights will visit Walsh (Ohio) in a non-conference match on Wednesday before hosting Seton Hill on Friday and Slippery Rock on Saturday.

With the playoff berth secured, Gannon will keep that match-by-match mentality.

"You go into every season opening to be relevant when the playoffs come around," Darling said, "so you can check that one off the list."