PSAC VOLLEYBALL QUARTERFINAL
NO. 1W GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS DEF. NO. 4W SETON HILL GRIFFINS 25-17, 25-17, 25-20
 

PSAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday, Nov. 19
1E Shepherd 3, 4E Millersville 1
2W IUP 3, 3W Clarion 1
3E East Stroudsburg 3, 2E Shippensburg 0
1W Gannon 3, 4W Seton Hill 0

Semifinals, Friday, Nov. 22
At Hagerty Family Events Center (Gannon host)
Shepherd vs. IUP, 5 p.m.
East Stroudsburg vs. Gannon, 7:30 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, Nov. 23
At Hagerty Family Events Center (Gannon host)
Semifinal winners
 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon has become a constant in the PSAC volleyball semifinals for almost a decade.
 
Coach Matt Darling's Golden Knights continued that streak of consistent excellence by sweeping Seton Hill 25-17, 25-17, 25-20 in the PSAC quarterfinals on Tuesday night at Hagerty Family Events Center.
 
The PSAC West regular-season champion and No. 1-seeded Knights earned the right host the PSAC Final Four and Championship this weekend at Joann Mullen Gymnasium at the Hagerty Family Events Center.
 
Friday's semifinal round will feature IUP, the No. 2 seed from the West, against Shepherd, the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Division at 5 p.m. Gannon (22-6) will take on East Stroudsburg, the No. 3 Eastern seed, on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
 
Gannon has now won eight consecutive PSAC quarterfinal matches dating to 2016. The Knights, who have won eight consecutive division titles, have played at home in each of those quarterfinal matchups.
 
That's not Gannon's only streak. The Knights have won two consecutive PSAC Tournament championships and will seek a third straight this weekend. They have also reach the finals in six of the past seven seasons.
 
 
How it happened:
 
Gannon was in command of the quarterfinal match from almost the outset on Tuesday. Seton Hill took a 10-9 lead in the first set before GU called a timeout. The Golden Knights responded by scoring five consecutive points to take a 14-10 lead. They eventually extended the advantage to 21-13 Kills by sophomores Carissa Treser (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) and Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area), and senior Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) helped seal the 25-17 win in the set.
 
The second set was tied 8-8 when Gannon went on a 7-1 run to take a 15-9 lead. The Knights cruised from there, eventually clinching the 25-17 win on back-to-back kills by Blevins.
 
In the third set, Gannon rolled to an 18-11 cushion and coasted the rest of the way. Consecutive kills by Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) eventually closed out the match.
 
 
By the numbers:
 
Gannon has won 15 of its past 16 matches after starting the season 7-5.
 
The Golden Knights have now won seven consecutive matches in the PSAC Tournament over the past three seasons.
 
Blevins paced Gannon with 16 kills and posted a strong .368 attack percentage, while Koch had 12 kills and a .375 hitting percentage.
 
Junior setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) led Gannon with 37 assists and 12 digs.
 
Catie Flohr paced Seton Hill with 16 kills.
 
Gannon finished with a solid .318 hitting percentage while holding SHU to .124