The Gannon women's volleyball team overcame a sluggish start on Friday night to reach the 20-win mark and move back into a first-place tie in the PSAC West.

After being tied through two sets, the Golden Knights got stronger as the match went on in their four-set win over Seton Hill at Highmark Events Center. Gannon pulled away for a 25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 25-10 victory while improving to 20-5 overall and 12-1 in the PSAC West.

It is the 13th season with at least 20 wins in the 16-year tenure of Gannon coach Matt Darling. The only seasons he has not reached 20 wins were his first two seasons and the COVID-shortened, 2020-21 season when the team finished 18-4. His teams also have five 30-win seasons since 2016. Friday's victory was also Darling's 200th in PSAC action. He is 200-74 in the conference.

"Our play was a bit uneven for the first two-and-a-half sets tonight, but this team once again was able to make adjustments and find a way to win," Darling said. "I have to give them credit for staying with it when things are not going well.  I wish it didn't happen as often as it does, but I do admire their ability to hang in until we find our rhythm."

Gannon won the first set and had a .444 hitting percentage but the Golden Knights struggled with six service errors. After Seton Hill won the second set 25-19, the Knights trailed 13-11 in the third set.
 

With his team needing a spark, Darling inserted 6-foot-2 sophomore middle blocker Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) into the lineup. Her immediate contributions gave GU momentum as it outscored Seton Hill 14-6 the rest of the set. Sorenson again made timely plays in the fourth set as Gannon rolled to victory.

Sorenson finished with seven kills and a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage. She also contributed three blocks.

"We received a huge spark from Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) tonight, who came in and played great in every facet of the game," Darling said.

Senior middle blocker Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) paced Gannon with 13 kills, sophomore outside hitter Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) had 12, and sophomore right side Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added nine. Freshman setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) recorded 37 assists. Defensively, Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) and Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) each had 14 digs.

Gannon is now in a first-place tie with Clarion, which was idle on Friday. GU will try to remain in first place with a win Saturday at 2 p.m. against Slippery Rock at Highmark Events Center. With a victory, Gannon would secure a PSAC quarterfinal home match. Three seniors will be honored on Saturday as part of Senior Day.