WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MATCH

GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS Def. PITT-JOHNSTOWN MOUNTAIN CATS 3-2 (25-11, 26-24, 17-25, 19-25, 16-14)
 
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The comebacks continue for the Gannon women's volleyball team.
 
The Golden Knights fought off four consecutive match points and scored the final six points to emerge with a 16-14 victory in the fifth set to cap a perfect weekend on the road with a 3-2 victory over Pitt-Johnson at the UPJ Sports Center.
 
The win came after Gannon rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Clarion on the road on Friday night. In fact, Saturday marked Gannon's third straight five-set road win during which it had to rally from a deficit. The previous week Gannon beat Seton Hill on the road after trailing 2-1.
 
Coach Matt Darling's team improved to 11-5 overall and moved alone into first place in the PSAC West with a 4-0 mark. UPJ dipped to 14-2 and 2-1.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the team for what they've accomplished these past two weekends," Darling said. "The stats from last night and today don't look great, and we definitely were hot and cold during both matches. But we just finished a stretch of the schedule that was very difficult: four top teams, three on the road, two of those early starts after late nights. Under those circumstances, it's amazing that we're 4-0 in the PSAC. "
 
 
What happened:
 
In the fifth set, Gannon trailed 14-10 after UPJ standout Lualis Alvarado put away her match-high 20th kill of the day.
 
However, that's when Gannon started the comeback. Senior outside hitter Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) started things with a kill, and an Alvarado attack error made it 14-12. Gannon sophomore Carissa Treser's (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) block made it 14-13, and senior right side Hailey Koch's (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) kill tied the score at 14.
 
Koch added another kill to give Gannon the lead before Koch teamed with senior middle blocker Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) to block Alvarado and complete the comeback with a 16-14 set win.
 
"Our middle play was strong today and generated some big points for us," Darling said.
 
Gannon grabbed a 2-0 lead in sets by winning the first 25-11 and squeezing out the second 26-24.
 
The Mountain Cats showed resiliency by winning the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-19, to set up the dramatic fifth set.
 
 
By the numbers:
 
Blevins paced Gannon with 15 kills, while Koch added 14, Sorenson and sophomore Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) collected 13 kills.
 
Gannon outhit UPJ .183 to .138.
 
Gannon had 97 digs to UPJ's 78, led by senior libero Emma Hall's (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) 32 digs.
 
Junior setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) had another strong performance with 55 assists and 18 digs.
 
Sorenson led Gannon with six total blocks.
 
Treser had 13 digs and seven kills.
 
 
What's ahead:
 
Gannon will visit Erie County rival Edinboro on Friday at 6 p.m.