ERIE, PA -- The Gannon University and University of Findlay women's volleyball teams played three close, intense sets on Saturday evening at Highmark Events Center.

Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, the visiting Oilers pulled out all three of those sets by two points and swept Gannon 25-23, 26-24, 26-24.

No. 25-ranked Gannon (6-4 overall) finished the weekend 2-1 after beating East Stroudsburg and West Virginia Wesleyan on Friday night. The loss to Findlay was Gannon's first home setback of the season as the Knights dropped to 5-1 at home. 

The score of the Gannon-Findlay match was close throughout, but Gannon never could pull ahead and build a cushion in any of the three sets.

Gannon led 19-16 in the first set, but Findlay battled back to tie the score at 23-23. The Oilers then won the final two points. Gannon led 24-22 in the second set and had two set points, but Findlay rallied for four consecutive points. In the third set, Gannon trailed 22-17 but regrouped and tied the score at 24-24. Again, Findlay responded with two straight points to seal the win.

"I'm happy about the effort and continue to be proud of the athletes for continuing to battle when, frankly, we didn't pass, attack, or especially block all that well," Gannon coach Matt Darling said. "The fact that we hung in there with a Findlay team that looked really good to me, despite our problems, is a testament to their grit.  I like that and hope we can build on that."

Sophomore outside hitter Sam Deinek (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) had a team-high 12 kills for Gannon, while Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added eight and Maggie Greenfield (Woodstock, Ontario/Woodstock Collegiate Institute) had seven. Freshman setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) had 28 assists, and sophomore libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had a team-best 15 digs.

Gannon had a difficult time stopping Findlay outside hitter Journey Blevins, who had 16 kills. Other Oiler standouts were setter Emma White with 35 assists and libero Ava Doster with 21 digs.

The Golden Knights will open the PSAC West season on Tuesday when they visit California, Pa., for a 7 p.m. match.