ERIE, Pa. – Bring on the postseason.
The Gannon women's volleyball team closed the regular season in resounding fashion against Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon with a three-set sweep that clinched the PSAC West's top seed for next week's PSAC Tournament.
The Golden Knights defeated the Lakers 25-22, 25-15, 25-16 to finish the regular season 23-4 overall and a first-place 14-2 in the PSAC West.
Gannon, which has won the PSAC West regular-season title for two years in a row, will host a PSAC quarterfinal match against No. 4 seed Pitt-Johnstown on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
By beating Mercyhurst for a second time this season, Gannon retained the Land and Sea Trophy that travels with the team that wins the Gannon-Mercyhurst matchup.
Mercyhurst closed the season at 4-20 overall and 2-14 in the PSAC West.
What happened:
- After struggling with their hitting in a five-set loss to Edinboro on Wednesday, the Golden Knights hit at an impressive .345 percentage on Saturday.
- Gannon built a seven-point lead in the first set before Mercyhurst rallied to within 22-21. However, GU clinched the first set, thanks to kills by freshman right Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) and junior right side Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge).
- The Golden Knights took a 12-6 lead in the second set and were never seriously threatened on the way to a 25-15 win. Junior middle blocker Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and senior outside hitter Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) had back-to-back kills to end the set.
- Mercyhurst took an 11-9 lead in the third set before Gannon made a strong surge to end the match, outscoring the Lakers 16-5 the rest of the way.
By the numbers:
- Koch continued her hot play with a match-high 14 kills and an outstanding .542 hitting percentage. She had just one error on 24 attacks.
- Junior outside hitter Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) had 12 kills and Blake added nine. Blevins hit .321 and Blake hit .360.
- Sorenson had seven kills on just 11 attacks for a .545 percentage.
- Junior libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had a productive match defensively, piling up 23 digs.
- Sophomore setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) turned in a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs.
- Kate Hennessy led Mercyhurst with 11 kills.
What's ahead:
Gannon will host a PSAC quarterfinal match against UPJ on Tuesday. If the Golden Knights win, they will advance to the semifinals to be hosted by a PSAC East school. Gannon is the defending PSAC champion.
