ERIE, Pa. – Coach Matt Darling knew Edinboro had the capability of beating his Gannon women's volleyball team in the PSAC Tournament quarterfinals.

He still felt that way even after his Golden Knights won the first two sets on Wednesday night and took a 6-point lead in third set at Highmark Events Center.

However, Darling also knew that his team has shown resilience all season and has been especially good in fifth sets. So, when Edinboro rallied to win the third and fourth sets, the Gannon coach didn't lose faith.

"It's a small sample size, but this is the third time we've played a fifth set, and we've actually looked pretty good in fifth sets," Darling said.

Sophomore right side Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) asserted herself early in the final set and Gannon pulled out a 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 18-25, 15-7 victory over a solid Edinboro team.

As a result of the victory, top-seeded Gannon will host the PSAC Final Four on Saturday and the Championship match on Sunday. The Golden Knights improved to 24-5 after winning their 12th consecutive match and their 18th in their last 19.

Edinboro closed the season at 19-10.

Gannon will host East Stroudsburg on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the PSAC semifinals. The Warriors swept Shippensburg on Wednesday in their quarterfinal match.

In the other semifinal match, Gannon's PSAC West rival, Clarion, will meet Shepherd on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both the Golden Eagles and the Rams swept their quarterfinal matches.

Gannon learned earlier Wednesday that it is ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region in the final rankings before the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 10:30 p.m.

Gannon won the first two sets somewhat easily Wednesday and then raced to a 6-0 lead in the third set. Then Edinboro's serve began to give the Knights difficulty.

"We were in a good position, but I think a team like Edinboro really dangerous because they're talented, they've kind of underperformed lately, and they're desperate," Darling said. "They changed the lineup a little bit, and I think their serving got a little tougher. … Credit to Edinboro; they played great. They played the way we've seen them play throughout the year."

Koch had three early kills in the fifth set as Gannon took leads of 6-1 and 7-4.

"Hailey really got us started," Darling said.

She added another kill and a block assist later in the set. Sophomore outside hitter Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) added three kills in the set.

Koch already was the reigning PSAC West Women's Volleyball Athlete of the Week after getting a career-high 19 kills in a five-set win over Clarion on Saturday. She tied that career best with 19 more kills on Wednesday and led Gannon with 21 points.

Koch had plenty of offensive support. Deinek finished with 17 kills, junior outside hitter Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) had 14 and senior middle blocker Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) added 11.

Freshman setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) finished with 55 assists as she went over 1,000 assists. She now has 1,018 in her first season with Gannon.

Blake led GU with 18 digs and Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) added 17.

Darling is happy to be hosting the Final Four in the PSAC this weekend.

"It's a great honor. There's a lot of great teams in the league," he said. "Nothing was easy for this group this year. I'm so proud of what this team has done already. I have high standards, but I don't think any of us really saw this being a possibility. We just keep figuring out a way to win even when it doesn't look beautiful, and tonight was a case in point."