CALIFORNIA, PA -- Junior outside hitter Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) had a big evening as the Gannon University women's volleyball team swept California in a PSAC West opener on Tuesday.

Blake asserted herself in the second and third sets as the Golden Knights pulled out a 25-21, 25-17, 28-26 victory at Cal's Convocation Center. She finished with team highs of 12 kills and 16 digs.

Sophomore right side Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added nine kills, including six in the first set. Freshman setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey) dished out 34 assists, and sophomore libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) added 12 digs.

Gannon improved to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the PSAC West. Cal dropped to 6-4, 0-1.

"It feels good to pick up a road win against a Cal team that has been playing well lately," Gannon coach Matt Darling said. "I'm especially happy that we battled for the win in extra points during set three. It's a great sign that we stayed calm and finished it off."

The third set might have been especially satisfying for Darling and the Golden Knights after Saturday's three-set loss to the University of Findlay. In that match, Gannon lost 25-23, 26-24, 26-24 after not being able to finish strong in any of the three tightly contested sets.

The third set on Tuesday was a back-and-forth affair. Cal led 9-4 early before Gannon went on a 14-2 run to take an 18-11 lead. Cal then went on a 9-1 run to take a 20-19 lead. The teams traded points before Sam Deinek's (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon East) last of eight kills gave Gannon a 27-26 lead. The Knights sealed the win on an attack error by Cal on the next point.

Gannon will return to PSAC West play on Saturday when it hosts Pitt-Johnstown at 2 p.m. at Highmark Events Center.