ERIE, PA – Gannon women's volleyball coach Matt Darling said before the season that his team might not be that good in September, but it would be much better in November.

Darling's prediction has proved to be prophetic.

After an early seven-match stretch when Gannon went 3-4, the Golden Knights have won 19 of their past 20, including 13 matches in a row. Gannon (25-5) overcame a shaky second set and swept East Stroudsburg 25-15, 29-27, 25-11 on Saturday afternoon in the PSAC semifinals at Highmark Events Center.

The Golden Knights will advance to the PSAC Championship match against rival Clarion (26-3), which rallied to defeat Shepherd 21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21 in Saturday's first semifinal. The Golden Eagles and Knights will meet in the title match on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Highmark Events Center.

Gannon and Clarion know each other well. They split two matches this season with each winning on the other's court. Gannon won the PSAC West regular-season title with a 15-1 record, while Clarion placed second with a 14-2 mark. Gannon is ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region, and Clarion is ranked No. 2, so both teams are certain to move onto the NCAA Tournament, no matter what happens Sunday..

Gannon won a relatively easy first set on Saturday before an unforgettable second set. The Golden Knights coasted to a 24-13 lead. However, ESU's Taylor Haan served 11 consecutive match points to tie the set at 24-24. The Knights finally won the set 29-27 on a kill by Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) and an ESU attack error.

The Golden Knights pulled away early in the third set to seal the victory.

Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) led a balanced Gannon attack with 11 kills. Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) (9 kills), Sophia Glabus (Elmhurst, Ill./York) (7), Deink (7), Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) (6), and setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) (6) also contributed to the hitting. Arslan led GU with 35 assists, and also had the best day of her young career on attacking. She had a season-best six kills.

Lara Toruner (Istanbul, Turkey/Terakki Foundation) had team highs of 12 digs and five aces.

CLARION WINS IN 4 SETS

Julia Piccolino had 18 kills, and Cassidy Snider added 15 as Clarion won the final three sets after winning the opener.

PSAC West Athlete of the Year London Fuller had 38 assists and 12 digs for the Golden Eagles. Alyson Peters recorded six blocks.

Clarion is the defending PSAC Tournament champion.