ERIE, PA – The Gannon volleyball team's season will continue in Seattle.

The Golden Knights made sure of that on Sunday night when they beat a talented Clarion team 3-1 at Highmark Events Center to claim the title in the eight-team NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.

The Knights will take a week and a half off from competition before traveling to Seattle, Washington, for the NCAA Fall Festival, where they will compete in the Division II Elite Eight, which begins on Dec. 1.

Coach Matt Darling's Gannon team beat the rival Golden Eagles 28-26, 17-25, 27-25, 25-20 to cap an amazing run of homecourt victories in the postseason. After winning the PSAC West regular-season title, the Golden Knights hosted six consecutive matches – three in the PSAC Tournament and three in the Atlantic Regional -- and won all of them.

That run of six victories extended their overall winning streak to 17 matches as they improved their record to 29-5. Gannon finished the season 18-2 at home, and that included victories in the last 12 home matches.

GU's wins over Charleston on Saturday night and Clarion on Sunday night were greatly aided by a thunderous crowd that shook the gym especially in key moments. Sunday's crowd was the biggest and loudest of the seven matches played from Friday through Sunday.
 

Gannon's last loss came Oct. 7 when Clarion swept the Knights at Highmark Events Center. After that, Gannon defeated the Golden Eagles three times in three of the most important matches of the season – the regular-season finale, the PSAC Tournament championship match and the Atlantic Region title match.

Gannon beat the heavy-hitting Clarion team in five sets in the PSAC Tournament one week ago at Highmark Events Center and before defeating the Golden Eagles in four sets on Sunday on its home court.

As has been the case throughout the season, Gannon's performance in the Atlantic Regional title match was again a team effort.

Sophomore outside hitter Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) used her 6-foot-2 height and powerful swing to rack up a match-high 21 kills. She was especially good in the third and fourth sets. Senior middle blocker Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) had another efficient effort with 14 kills, an outstanding .462 hitting percentage, and a team-high five blocks.

Both players made the all-tournament team along with teammates Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) and Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell). Arslan, a freshman setter, dished out 46 assists and had 15 digs, while Hall, a sophomore libero, had 17 digs.

Junior outside hitter Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) had only eight kills but she added a team-high 18 digs to go with three blocks. Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added seven kills and three blocks.

One of the key moments in the match occurred in the third set with the match tied 1-1 in sets and Clarion leading 20-15 in the third. Blake turned in a kill to give Gannon the serve, and Delaney Thomas (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) proceeded serve five consecutive points as the Golden Knights took a 21-20 lead.

Many players who started the match on the bench eventually made short but critical appearances for Gannon.

Late in that third set, Darling inserted setter Marta Roicka (Warsaw, Poland/North Central Texas Academy) and right side Makenna Gavin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) into the lineup for the first time. Roicka made a couple of key plays, including a set for Deinek, who logged a kill to give GU a 24-23. Gavin later served match point and Gannon won the point on a hitting error by Clarion to take a 27-25 win.

Marieke Zink (Muenster, Germany) and Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) also played key roles off the bench. Zink made some tough serves while the 6-foot-2 Sorenson helped turn the momentum with her play in the middle. She had four kills and three blocks, but most importantly she used her height to help alter some of Clarion's attacks.

Gannon pulled away early in the fourth set. After leading 5-4, GU went on a 9-3 run to take a 14-7 lead. The Golden Eagles never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

Gannon clinched the victory on a Clarion service error as the Knights streamed onto the court and celebrated yet another big postseason win.

Darling's teams have now advanced to the Elite Eight in four of the past five NCAA Tournaments. (No tourney was played in 2020). They have made the Final Four twice in that span, including 2021 when they lost to national champion Tampa in the national semifinals.

Now, the latest Golden Knights will get a chance to chase a national championship in Seattle in early December.

ALL-TOURNAMENT SQUAD

Clarion had four players on the Atlantic Regional all-tournament squad, including outstanding setter London Fuller, who was earlier named PSAC West Athlete of the Year and Atlantic Region Player of the Year.
She was joined on the all-tourney team by outsider hitters Julia Piccolino and Cassidy Snider, and middle hitter Alyson Peters. Coach Jennifer Herron's team finished 28-5.

Other all-tournament selections were Charleston's Erin Carmody and Sage Bearnson, and Wheeling's Allonda Watkins and Karly Niesen.