ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon volleyball team entered the PSAC Tournament knowing that it had to stay focused considering it was a playing a Pitt-Johnstown team that it had swept twice earlier this season.

"Any time you play a good team, it's hard to beat them once, it's hard to beat them twice, but it's even harder to beat them three times," Gannon senior outside hitter Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) said after the match.

Gannon just made it look somewhat easy on Tuesday night.

Coach Matt Darling's Golden Knights did not look past the Mountain Cats and came away with a third consecutive sweep, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, in the PSAC quarterfinals on Friday at the Highmark Events Center. That means that the Knights played nine sets against a talented UPJ team this season and won all nine sets.

"UPJ's tough. They've got a lo of good wins under their belt this year," Darling said. "We kind of have success against them the first two times, and we just didn't want to get complacent."

Gannon (24-4) will now shift its focus to the PSAC Final Four in Shippensburg this weekend. It will face an East Stroudsburg team that beat Shepherd in five sets on Tuesday. GU will face ESU on Friday at 5 p.m. in the first semifinal.

Clarion will meet Shippensburg in the second semifinal on Friday after both the Golden Eagles and the Big Red swept their quarterfinal foes on Tuesday.

 

Gannon captain Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) talks about the Golden Knights' 3-0 sweep of UPJ and about advancing to the PSAC Final Four.
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— Gannon Athletics (@GUKnights) November 15, 2023

 
How it happened:

• The first set was tied 5-5 when Gannon went on a 6-0 run that was capped by a Blake kill. The Knights expanded that lead to 21-10. They coasted in to a 25-17 win.
• Gannon led throughout the second set but UPJ trimmed the lead to 19-17, forcing Gannon to call a timeout. Kills by Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union), Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) helped Gannon seal the 25-20 win.
• The third set was tied 7-7 before GU scored four straight points to move ahead 11-7. The Knights never trailed again, and a kill by Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) eventually ended the match.
• Gannon's front line was very effective against UPJ. Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) each had three total blocks, and Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) added 2.5. When Gannon wasn't blocking UPJ shots, it was altering them.
• "I think out middles were awesome," Blake said. "Ali was all over the place, and out setter connection with them was just amazing."

By the numbers:

• Blake led Gannon with 11 kills and had a strong .333 hitting percentage.
• Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) was second with 10 kills and hit .360 as Gannon outhit UPJ .277 to .077.
• Setters Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) dished out 19 assists and Marta Roicka (Warsaw, Poland/North Central Texas Academy) had 17 assists.
• Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) was impressive defensively with 19 digs.
• Gannon has now won four PSAC playoff matches in a row and six of the past seven.