ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women's volleyball team completed a two-match sweep of opponents at home this weekend. Now, comes the tough second half of the PSAC West season.
 
Coach Matt Darling's Golden Knights won their eighth match in a row with a 25-23, 25-16, 25-8 sweep of Slippery Rock on Sunday at Hagerty Family Events Center. It was the second home sweep in a row for Gannon, which beat California (Pa.) 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.
 
First-place Gannon moved to 7-0 in the PSAC West while completing the first half of the conference schedule. The Golden Knights are 15-5 overall.
 
Slippery Rock dipped to 8-11 overall and 1-6 in the PSAC West.
 
Gannon's talented senior front line excelled for the second straight day as right side hitter Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) had 12 kills, middle blocker Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) had 11, and outside hitter Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) had eight. Gannon had 46 kills to SRU's 24. Sorenson, who hit remarkable .706 on Saturday, hit an impressive .588 on Sunday.
 
Gannon dominated almost all statistical categories. Gannon outhit SRU .292 to .039 and had 40 assists to SRU's 22.
 
Junior setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) collected 31 assists, while Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had a team-high 13 digs. Sorenson paced Gannon with five total blocks.
 
 
What's ahead:
 
Gannon will visit a tough IUP team on Tuesday before hosting second-place Seton Hill on Saturday. IUP is 4-3 in the PSAC West, while Seton Hill is 6-1.