SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – For the first time in program history, the Gannon women's volleyball team has won back-to-back PSAC championships.
As has been the 2023 team's habit, the Golden Knights did it with a lot of drama.
The Golden Knights showed skill and resiliency as they overcame a deflating fourth set to beat rival Clarion in five sets as they claimed their second consecutive conference title. The Knights won by final scores of 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-10 at Shippensburg's Heiges Field House.
Coach
Matt Darling's Gannon team improved to 26-4 and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. This will be Gannon's 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAAs.
"I have to say we've won some matches, but I don't know if I've ever felt better about a win than I do about this one," head coach
Matt Darling said, "and it has everything to do with what happened in the fourth set when we had the thing won and managed to let it slip away.
"But we just bounced back – over and over again this year. It's emblematic of this particular group that we won it the way we did. So, I'm just so excited."
The Golden Knights were seeded No. 1 in the Atlantic Region going into the weekend, so Gannon has a good chance to host the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional for the second year in a row. GU won the regional last year at the Highmark Events Center and advanced to the Elite Eight in Seattle.
Gannon was able to overcome an emotional letdown from the fourth set. The Knights led 24-17 and were one point from a title when Clarion ran off nine consecutive points and won the set 26-24.
As they have done all year, the Knights regrouped and won the fifth set. They took an 8-3 lead and eventually sealed a 15-10 win on
Sydney Wake's (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) clinching kill.
Gannon is now 7-1 in five-set matches this year. That included Friday evening's five-set win over East Stroudsburg in the semifinals. GU is now 12-1 in five-set matches over the past two years.
Junior outside hitter
Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) claimed PSAC Tournament MVP honors with a 27-kill performance.
"Props to my setters and my teammates," Blevins said. "Everyone just played really well together. It's really more them."
Meanwhile, Gannon defensive standout
Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had a career-high 37 digs and was spectacular in making numerous saves against Clarion's standout hitters.
What happened:
In the first set, Clarion took a 12-7 lead before Gannon went on a 6-1 run to tie it at 13-13. The Golden Knights closed the set with an 11-6 run, which included four kills by Blevins. She had six kills in the set. GU led 22-21 when
Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge), Blevins, and Koch had kills to secure a 25-21 set.
The second set was back and forth. Gannon led 14-13 when Clarion went on an 11-2 run to take a 24-16 lead. The Golden Eagles won the set 25-17.
Blevins was a force in the third set as she recorded eight kills. Gannon led the entire set before Clarion closed the margin to 19-17. GU then went on a 6-2 run that was capped by an
Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) kill.
Gannon raced to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set and led 24-17 before Clarion won seven consecutive match points and then claimed a 26-24 win to send the match to a fifth set.
Gannon took an 8-3 edge in the fifth set, but again Clarion came back. The Golden Eagles pulled to within 9-8, but Gannon stopped the surge there and finished off the set.
"It's unbelievable. There was a lot of emotion in that game especially in the fourth set," Hall said. "But winning it together was incredible, and I'm so happy be here with my team."
By the numbers:
Blevins was efficient in recording a season-high 27 kills. She had a hitting percentage of .344 while also recording seven digs and two aces. It was the first conference title for Blevins, a two-time All-American who transferred from Findlay in the offseason.
Sorenson,
Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area), and Wake were tough in the blocking game. Sorenson had six total blocks, Atwell had five, and Wake had four.
Hall had 37 digs, but she credited Gannon's front line. "I want to thank my blockers for that because without them I probably would have gotten hit in the face a few times. They created a lot of opportunities for me, so I'm really thankful for them."
Senior outside hitter
Madde Blake (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Junior right side hitter
Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added 11 kills after getting 22 kills in the semifinals.
Gannon's setter duo of
Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) and
Marta Roicka (Warsaw, Poland/North Central Texas Academy) played well again. Arslan had 29 assists, while Roicka had 26. Roicka added 13 digs, and Arslan had eight.
PSAC West Athlete of the Year Cassidy Snider led Clarion with 21 kills and 22 digs.
Blake, a senior captain, summed up her feelings about the PSAC season.
"I'm so grateful," she said. "As a senior, you really can't ask for anything more. I got a little emotional on the last point, but I'm just so grateful, and this is just the perfect wrapup of my time here and a perfect example of how hard we can fight."
Blake and the Golden Knights will now focus on the Atlantic Regional.
